Critics of the CPC and President Xi Jinping, Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, received hefty prison sentences of 14 years and 12 years, respectively.

The UN has condemned the Chinese court’s decision to sentence two well-known human rights attorneys to lengthy prison terms, with the international body’s rights chief expressing his “grave worry” about the sentences imposed on the campaigners.

In what is being viewed as Beijing’s latest crackdown on dissent, Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, who opposed President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China (CPC) and called for better civil rights in the nation, were handed hefty prison terms on Monday of 14 years and 12 years, respectively.

Volker Turk, the head of the UN Human Rights Office, stated in a statement posted by his office: “I am deeply worried that two important human rights campaigners in China, Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong, have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, at variance with international human rights law standards.

People cannot be charged with a crime or subjected to other forms of punishment for criticising the government, according to human rights law. Also, it calls for respect for the rights to a fair trial and due process as well as thorough investigations into any claims of mistreatment, Turk added in his statement.

In order to “follow up on these incidents with the authorities,” the UN representative vowed.

It’s crucial to take action to prevent other human rights advocates from being attacked for exercising their rights to free speech, association, and peaceful assembly.

Following their convictions for the crime of “subversion of state power,” a court in Shandong province, eastern China, sentenced Xu to 14 years in jail and Ding to 12 years.

In China, courts are not impartial and answer to the Communist Party of China, which is in power.

Human Rights Watch, a US-based rights organisation, released a statement claiming that “their trials were conducted behind closed doors and filled with procedural issues and claims of maltreatment.”

Yaqiu Wang, senior Chinese researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that the Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi verdicts and punishments “reflect President Xi Jinping’s unstinting animosity towards peaceful movement.”

The sentencing was described as “disgraceful” and a “blatant breach of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly” by the rights organisation Amnesty International. They ought to be released right now and without conditions.

A loosely organised group of activists created by Xu in 2012 to promote government openness included Xu and Ding.

Early in February 2020, Xu criticised Xi’s handling of the coronavirus epidemic and the pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong and demanded his resignation.

According to the Amnesty statement, Xu was detained on February 15, 2020, while residing at the home of another activist. He was then held incommunicado under residential monitoring at a predetermined location until January 15, 2021.

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