Shandong human rights lawyer Yu Kai, who was placed under criminal detention, released today

(Rights Defense Network Information Center report) On April 26, 2026, this outlet learned that Yu Kai, a Shandong human rights lawyer who had been placed under criminal detention, was released and has returned home.

Yu Kai: Born in 1970, a native of Weihai, Shandong Province; deputy director of the Criminal Legal Risk Prevention Professional Committee of the Shandong Lawyers Association; former adjunct professor, master's supervisor and director of the Criminal Defense Research Center at the School of Law of Qingdao University of Science and Technology; director of Shandong Xiaolin Law Firm; and a human rights lawyer.

From 1994 to 2003, he worked as a police officer in the economic crimes investigation and legal affairs departments of public security organs; later, because he could not stand the various deplorable practices within the system, he resolutely left the police force and became a practicing lawyer in 2004. Since then, he has long been dedicated to advancing the rule of law and safeguarding the rights of disadvantaged groups; initially, he served as director of the Criminal Research Center at Dacheng (Qingdao) Law Firm, while also serving as a member of the Criminal Committee of the All China Lawyers Association and deputy director of the Criminal Legal Risk Prevention Professional Committee of the Shandong Lawyers Association; beginning in 2013, he was successively appointed adjunct professor, master's supervisor and director of the Unit Crime Research Center at the School of Law of Qingdao University of Science and Technology; in 2015, he was also invited to the University of Akron in the United States as a visiting scholar; in June 2019, as a senior legal practitioner, he co-authored and published the legal book Practical Explanation of Unit Crimes; in September 2021, he began operating Shandong Xiaolin Law Firm and served as its director, with services covering criminal defense, representation in criminal-civil crossover cases, and criminal risk prevention and control.

In August 2023, because he and five other lawyers/legal workers—Lan Qingzhou, Ma Xiaolin, Yu Zhaoyan and Zhang Wenpeng—jointly submitted relevant legislative recommendations to the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress (primarily recommending the abolition of the “crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble”), and affixed the official seal of “Shandong Xiaolin Law Firm,” they touched a sensitive nerve at the Qingdao Municipal Justice Bureau. They were consequently soon accused of “improperly hyping cases,” and the law firm was ordered to suspend operations for rectification for six months, while he personally was suspended from practicing for one year; it was not until January 2025 that his law firm was allowed to complete its rectification period, and he did not resume practicing until July of that year.

On March 26, 2026, after reporting Qingdao Municipal Justice Bureau Director Deng Huanli under his real name, he publicly held up a placard in front of the gate of the Ministry of Justice in Beijing. The content of the placard directly accused Deng Huanli of multiple serious offenses, including “abuse of power,” “dereliction of duty by failing to transfer criminal cases despite favoritism,” and “having a huge amount of property of unknown origin”; during the reporting process, he lawfully submitted the Statement on Illegal Practices in Establishing a List of “Lawyers Under Key Control”, and made reasonable requests for expression, including “autonomy of bar associations, freedom to pay fees” and “abolition of annual inspections of lawyers' licenses.” However, not only did his report fail to receive a friendly and reasonable reply or response, but he was instead inexplicably taken by Beijing's Xicheng District police to the local Fusuijing Police Station and detained, and the following day he was placed under criminal detention on suspicion of the “crime of disrupting public order”; after learning of his sudden loss of contact, a number of lawyers in Beijing went to Fusuijing Police Station to inquire about the situation. Unexpectedly, the incident subsequently escalated, and several of the lawyers who went there—including Lu Siwei, Bao Longjun and Wang Yu—were also successively taken away or summoned by police for a period; the incident quickly attracted widespread attention, and public opinion called on the authorities not to characterize complainants (or those making reports) as “disrupting public order” merely because they raised issues touching on the institutional level, particularly topics involving management mechanisms, and urged that he be released and regain his freedom as soon as possible. He was initially detained at the Xicheng District Detention Center in Beijing (Jia 3, Dougezhuang Village, Qiliqu Township, Changping District, Beijing; postal code: 102206). In early April 2026, he was transferred to Qingdao Detention Center. He was released on April 26, 2026.