recent conviction of prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Li Heping

The prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Li Heping was convicted of charges of ‘subversion of state power’ last week, almost two years after his arrest.

Mr Li’s rights under China’s Criminal Procedure Code and international law obligations, to a fair trial, proper defence and access to a lawyer of his own choice, were not respected. He is also being deprived of his right to appeal the conviction in the timeframe allowed under Chinese law. The European Union calls for him to be set free.

The Chinese authorities are expected to abide by China’s international law obligations, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and respect the rights of all citizens as recognised by China’s Constitution, as well as to drop all pending charges against the human rights lawyers and defenders detained in connection with the 9 July 2015 crackdown, including Jiang Tianyong, Wang Quanzhang, Xie Yang and Wu Gan, and ensure their release.