China: rights lawyer Xie Yang arrested, whereabouts unknown

Xie Yang had been arrested in 2015, during the investigations known as “709? against hundreds of lawyers and activists. He was released four years ago

Xie Yang is a Hunan-based human rights lawyer who represented the family of Xu Chunhe, a murdered man shot by police in Heilongjiang province in May 2015. He has also represented those involved in the New Citizens Movement, the Chinese Democratic Party, Christians, and victims of land grabbing.

According to the lawyer’s wife, Chen Guiqiu, on Twitter, “the state security forces took Xie away on January 11, and since then his whereabouts have been unknown.” In another subsequent tweet, Chen asks the authorities of the city of Changsha, in the center of the country, for the immediate release of her husband.

Xie was arrested in 2015 and tried in 2017 for“subversion against the power of the State” and “disturbing order”, crimes frequently used in China against activists and dissidents. The lawyer, who after his arrest denounced torture by the authorities, finally agreed with them on a confession in which he denied it in exchange for not being imposed a criminal sanction and being allowed to continue practicing .