Freed Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang to challenge subversion conviction

Campaigner says he wants to challenge the legal system to show how an unjust sentence can be overturned

Wang’s own lawyer reveals details of torture after he was held under a sweeping crackdown targeting lawyers and activists

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Wang Quanzhang was prevented from seeing his wife, Li Wenzu, and son for weeks after his release. Photo: Handout

Published: 10:00am, 11 May 2020Updated: 11:42pm, 11 May 2020

Freed human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang is seeking to challenge the Chinese courts over his conviction for state subversion.

Wang was swept up in an unprecedented crackdown against lawyers and activists across the nation in 2015.

He was then held incommunicado, convicted in a closed-door hearing and denied access to proper legal representation. His lawyer said he was also tortured while in detention.

He was released on April 5 after serving a 4½-year sentence, but even then he was prevented from seeing his wife and son until later that month.

Wang said he would petition to challenge his conviction and said the courts had violated the Criminal Procedure Law by illegally detaining him for more than three years without trial and denying him a legal defence during the hearings.

“Procedural justice is what I have been desperately pursuing for years. Now that an unjust case has landed upon me, I will show how it can be overturned in real life,” he said.

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