UN rights chief Volker Turk expresses ‘grave worry’ as China jails rights lawyers

Geneva, Switzerland: Volker Turk, the head of the UN human rights office, expressed his “grave worry” at China’s decision to imprison two well-known human rights attorneys for more than ten years on Monday. After trials behind closed doors, Xu Zhiyong and fellow activist Ding Jiaxi were found guilty of “subversion of state authority.” Both were prominent members of the New Citizens Movement, a civil rights organisation that pushed for constitutional change and denounced public corruption. “I am very concerned that two prominent human rights defenders in China –Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong – have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, at variance with international human rights law standards,” Turk said in a statement. “Human rights law requires that people not be prosecuted or otherwise punished for voicing their criticism of government policies,” he added. “It also requires respect for fair trial and due process rights, and proper investigations into any allegations of ill-treatment.” Xu, who called for President Xi Jinping to step down over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, was jailed for 14 years following a closed-door trial in east China’s Shandong province, Human Rights Watch said. Ding was “jailed for 12 years and deprived of political rights for three years”, his wife Luo Shengchun told AFP, referring to a punishment in China that bars the convicted from holding public office. Observers have regularly raised concerns about due process in China, where the courts have a conviction rate of about 99 per cent. “I will follow up on these cases with the authorities,” said Turk. “It is important that steps are taken to ensure that other human rights defenders are not targeted for exercising their human rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.” Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.