He is in prison for calling for political reforms and defending various human rights activists. Sentenced to four years on charges of "inciting subversion". He was the defender of the well-known dissident Wang Quanzhang. His wife: the award will give courage to those who fight for human rights in China.
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Yu Wensheng has been declared the winner of the Martin Ennals international human rights award. The Chinese lawyer has been in prison since January 2018 for publishing a letter calling for political reform. In a closed-door trial held last June, he was sentenced to four years in prison on charges of "inciting subversion".
A jury made up of representatives of 10 human rights organizations - including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch - announced the choice of the winner yesterday. The other candidates selected were Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul, who was released from prison on 10 February, and Turkmen journalist Soltan Achilova.
Yu defended several colleagues who fight for human rights, including the well-known activist Wang Quanzhang, released last spring after years of imprisonment.
Wang was one of the leading figures arrested by the authorities in a security operation called "709" (which began on July 9, 2015), targeting 300 other lawyers - including some Catholic and Protestant Christians.
Many of them were tried and then sentenced; several have "confessed" their guilt on video; others emerged from prison physically and psychologically shattered due to the torture they suffered.
For his defence of dissidents, Yu lost his professional license, a repressive measure that the Chinese regime continues to use against lawyers deemed uncomfortable.
His wife Xu Yan said that the recognition of the Ennals Award is a great honour - an encouragement to all Chinese activists to continue their efforts even in the face of adversity.