(28 August 2024) It has been reported that on 28 August 2024, the trial of lawyer Yu Wensheng, who is charged with “inciting subversion of state power”, began. Only one family member was allowed to attend the trial, whilst many seats in the courtroom were occupied by unidentified individuals. Lawyer Wang Yu, who went to attend the trial, was taken away by unknown persons at Suzhou Railway Station at 07:00. Lawyer Yang Hui was taken by the police after arriving at the court at 09:00. Both lawyers were released by 18:00 Beijing time and were forcibly taken to Suzhou Railway Station and “expelled” from Suzhou. Eleven diplomats, mostly from the European Union, also attempted to attend the trial but were not allowed to enter the courtroom.
In light of these events, the British human rights organisation Sentinel Defenders Network believes that the right to a fair trial is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Chinese Constitution. A public trial is a basic requirement for a fair trial conducted by an independent and impartial court, as recognised by international conventions, the Chinese Constitution, and relevant laws and regulations.
Chinese regulations on judicial openness and court rules stipulate that trials should be public, and citizens have the right to attend. Due to limitations such as the size of the courtroom, the court may issue passes for attendance or use video recordings and live broadcasts to satisfy the public and media’s need to understand the trial proceedings.
Therefore, we oppose any “occupying seats” tactic or arranged attendance. We also oppose the illegal detention of concerned citizens like Wang Yu and Yang Hui and the denial of diplomats’ right to attend the trial. These actions are blatant violations of international conventions and Chinese domestic law by the Chinese authorities.
We reiterate that the arrest of lawyer Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan this year and their charges of “inciting subversion of state power” based on their posts on X (formerly Twitter) are entirely attempts by the Chinese authorities to suppress and persecute citizens’ right to freedom of speech. The charges against Yu Wensheng, which include mentioning the “Citizen Proposal on Constitutional Amendments” in tweets, also seriously violate the legal principle of “non bis in idem” (no double jeopardy).
On 27 August 2024, we had already formally sent letters to eleven Chinese party and government agencies, including the Suzhou Procuratorate, Intermediate People’s Court, Detention Centre, Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, Procuratorate, High Court, Foreign Affairs Office, as well as the Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the International Department, Central Committee of CPC. We requested that the authorities change the compulsory measures against Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan to release on bail. We will continue to follow the developments in this case until justice is served.
敦促中國當局切實保障余文生、許艷獲得公正審判的權利之聲明
(2024年8月28日）據悉：2024年8月28日余文生律師被控煽動顛覆國家政權案開庭，只有一位親屬到庭旁聽，大量旁聽席被身份不明的人員佔據，趕去旁聽的王宇律師早上7點在蘇州火車站被身份不明人員帶走，楊暉律師到達法院門口後於早上9點被警察帶走。直到北京時間下午6點，二位才被釋放，王宇及楊暉被強行送到蘇州火車站，並「驅逐」出蘇州。以歐盟為主的十一位外交官亦前往旁聽，但沒有獲准進入法庭。
有鑑於此，英國人權團體吹哨人連線(Sentinel Defenders Network)認為：被告有權獲得公正審判的權利，是《世界人權宣言》和《公民權利和政治權利國際公約》，以及中國憲法所確認的公民基本權。審判公開，是一個獨立而無偏倚的法庭進行公正審判的基本要求，同樣為前述國際公約和中國憲法、法律和規則所確認。
中國關於司法公開的規定以及法庭規則，規定了公開的庭審活動，公民可以旁聽。因審判場所等客觀因素所限，法院可以發放旁聽證或透過庭審影片、直播錄影等方式滿足公眾及媒體了解庭審實況的需要。
因而，我們反對任何「佔坑式」、被安排的旁聽，對真正關心該案庭審狀況的公民王宇、楊暉進行非法扣押，外交官不被允許旁聽案件，這是中國當局對國際公約和其國內法的公然踐踏。
我們申明：今年余文生律師、許艷被抓捕，其在X（原推特）上的發言，被指控煽動顛覆國家政權罪，完全是中國當局對公民言論自由權的打壓和迫害。指控余文生犯罪的事實包括推文提到《關於修憲的公民建議》相關文字，嚴重違反「一事不再罰」刑事處罰原則。
2024年8月27日，我們就中國當局以X言論為由抓捕余文生、許豔的行為，已於正式向蘇州市檢察院、中級法院、看守所，江蘇省委、省檢察院、省高院、省外事辦，以及最高法院、最高人民檢察院、外交部、中共中央對外聯絡部等十一個黨政機關發函，要求對余文生、艷二位變更強制措施為取保候審。我們也將持續跟進這個案件發展，直到正義得以實現。以下為本團體向十一個黨政部門所發的信函。
苏州市第四看守所
苏州市中级人民法院
苏州市人民检察院
江苏省高级人民法院
江苏省人民检察院
江苏省人民政府外事办公室
江苏省委
最高人民法院
最高人民检察院
中华人民共和国外交部
中共中央对外联络部