China throws the book at two prominent human-rights lawyers
While an infamous human trafficker gets a lighter sentence
To understand what China’s rulers really care about, look at whom they punish. On April 10th, after more than three years in detention, two prominent human-rights lawyers—Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong—were sentenced to 12 and 14 years in prison, respectively. Their crime, according to prosecutors, was the “subversion of state power”. Mr Xu’s indictment claims that he was plotting a “colour revolution”.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “What passes for justice”
From the April 15th 2023 edition
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