Li Yuhan, age 72, is a Beijing-based human rights lawyer and advocate for victims of human rights violations. In her capacity as a human rights lawyer, Li Yuhan has represented sensitive cases on freedom of religion or belief and access to government information. In 2015, during China’s “709” crackdown on human rights lawyers, Li Yuhan defended Wang Yu, a fellow human rights lawyer who was one of the main targets of the crackdown. She was one of the laureates of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights in 2020.
The verdict was announced more than two years after the trial first began on 20 October 2021 and more than six years since the woman human rights defender was detained on 9 October 2017. Despite her advance age and the fact that she is suffering from multiple health conditions, applications for her release on medical parole have been repeatedly rejected.
In 2018, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared Li Yuhan’s detention to be in violation of international human rights standards. In July 2023, the Working Group and a group of independent UN human rights experts wrote to the Chinese government to express grave concerns about her prolonged arbitrary detention and the violations of the due process guarantees in her case, “including the denial of her access to lawyers of her own choosing; the failure to promptly inform her of the charges she faced; and the failure of the State to guarantee Ms. Yuhan a trial within a reasonable time.”
Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the verdict against Li Yuhan and believes that the detention and conviction of the woman human rights defender are an act of reprisal for her peaceful and legitimate work in defence of human rights. It calls on the Chinese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release her and quash her conviction. Pending her release, she should be given prompt and regular access to adequate and quality medical care of her choice.
