The Case of Hu Yang, a Henan Native and International Student at Leiden University in the Netherlands Who Was Arrested, Went to Trial Recently; No Verdict Issued in Court

（Rights Defense Network Information Center report）On July 25, 2026， this outlet learned： the case of Hu Yang， a Henan native and international student at Leiden University in the Netherlands who was arrested， went to trial recently， but no verdict was issued in court。

Hu Yang’s profile：Born in the 2000s， a native of Zhengzhou, Henan Province， an international student at Leiden University in the Netherlands， a person convicted for speech， and a political prisoner detained in China。

Exceptionally intelligent from childhood， upon graduating from high school， he was admitted to a relevant chemistry program at Wuhan University’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences because of his diligence and excellent academic performance， and after entering the university he also minored in law at its School of Political Science and Public Administration， earning dual degrees in chemistry and law by the time he graduated from university； because he continued preparing for examinations and applied to study abroad according to his wishes， in September 2024 he went on to pursue a Master of Arts in philosophical perspectives on politics and economics at the Leiden Institute of Philosophy（Universiteit Leiden， one of Europe’s long-established top universities） of Leiden University（The Institute for Philosophy， affiliated with Leiden University’s Faculty of Humanities）； in the summer of 2025， after successfully graduating and obtaining a master’s degree in philosophy from Leiden University， he planned to continue studying for a related doctorate in the Netherlands； however， just as his seemingly bright plans and future vision were about to be realized， he had no idea that he would soon encounter ruthless political suppression by the Chinese Communist government； in recent years， as the Chinese Communist authorities’ escalating suppression of their own citizens’ freedom of belief and expression has intensified year after year， the previously less common phenomenon of international students being monitored、warned and harassed upon returning to China， or even arrested and sentenced or forcibly disappeared， for freely expressing themselves overseas or following and supporting Chinese human rights activities has shown a clear upward trend；

It is reported that since 2024 alone， it has become known that many young students， after going to developed countries in Europe and the United States to study or going to Hong Kong and Taiwan for education， merely browsed and read on overseas media truthful information and news data that are difficult to see within China， or posted comments on online platforms containing negative information that greatly displeased the Chinese Communist authorities， or actively participated in activities focused on and calling for improvements to China’s poor human rights situation， thereby attracting the attention and monitoring reports of Chinese Communist overseas internet trolls（that is， online writers who publish and monitor and report specific information about specific content on international online platforms）， and were secretly arrested and disappeared when returning to China to visit family；

In July 2025， after graduating with a master’s degree from Leiden University in the Netherlands， he arranged with his former schoolmate from China， Wu Haoyu， who was also studying for a master’s degree in computer science at Politecnico di Milano in Italy， to return to China together during the summer to visit their families， so the two flew on the same flight and arrived in Shanghai on July 26； however， they did not expect that when the plane arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport， the two would be intercepted by police at the airport， and both would subsequently be criminally detained by Zhengzhou police in Henan Province on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”， after which they lost contact； because his family did not know the reason for his arrest， they repeatedly inquired with the police about the reason and requested permission to meet with him， but were all refused， being told only that they had to be handled as politically sensitive cases because of “speech-related issues”； with neither knowledge of the specific reason for his arrest nor permission to meet her son， his mother was forced to post an appeal hoping that a lawyer would intervene in his case， but the lawyer retained to represent him was still refused when requesting to meet with the client； on September 1 of the same year， because he had not been released after being held in criminal detention for a long time and the opening of the various international universities was approaching， his mother was forced to post messages seeking help on Platform X and elsewhere online， urgently looking for his and Wu Haoyu’s classmates and friends in Europe， hoping they could help the two pack up their belongings and complete procedures to withdraw from their studies and terminate their rental agreements； these entirely ordinary help-seeking messages nevertheless prompted someone to speak with his mother that afternoon because she had spoken out， forcing her to delete the posts and remain silent as soon as possible； regarding this， his mother was genuinely puzzled and bravely posted an angry response：“Is it also illegal to post a help-seeking message looking for someone？ Who will be responsible for the nearly 2,000 euros in monthly rent if my son’s lease is not terminated？ Who will bear legal responsibility if the landlord sues me？ Who will be responsible if his important personal belongings are lost？ Who will help me get a refund for all those university expenses？ To whom should the belongings I was carrying for my friends and the remaining money be sent back？” and so on； on September 3， it became known that he and Wu Haoyu had both been formally arrested by Zhengzhou police on the same charge；

On October 31， his case was transferred by Zhengzhou police to the People’s Procuratorate of Erqi District, Zhengzhou City, for review and prosecution， but several days later his lawyer requested to meet with the client and review the case files and was still delayed and refused， with officials saying that the transfer-of-custody procedures had not yet been completed and that meetings were not permitted； in response， his family sent multiple petition letters to the Zhengzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau、the Henan Provincial Public Security Department、the Ministry of Public Security and procuratorates at various levels， hoping that higher-level authorities would supervise the lawful approval of lawyer meetings and handle the case openly、fairly and in accordance with the law， so as to prevent a black-box operation and disguised coercion to confess； on November 9, 2025， it became known that after being detained for 107 days he had finally been permitted to meet with his lawyer； but after the meeting the lawyer said that because of explicit restrictions imposed by the authorities， he could not discuss the details of the case and could only report to his family that he was safe and mention his physical condition、mental state and what clothing to send him； in addition， regarding Wu Haoyu, the Italian international student who was arrested together with him， because his family had been silenced， his specific circumstances remained unknown；

It was learned on July 21, 2026， that the first-instance trial of his case for picking quarrels and provoking trouble had recently been held at the Erqi District People’s Court in Zhengzhou， but no verdict has yet been issued。 He is currently detained at the Third Detention Center of Zhengzhou City.