The Guangdong Provincial High Court denied the appeals of imprisoned human rights defenders Wang Jianbing and Huang Xueqin in a secretive trial held last week, without notifying their attorneys. The decision was decried as a blatant violation of due process by numerous supporters and human rights organizations, who consider Huang and Wang to be unjustly detained and who have insistently called for their immediate release. In June of this year, journalist and feminist activist Huang was sentenced to five years in prison, while labor- and disability-rights activist Wang was sentenced to three-and-a-half years. They were accused of “inciting subversion of state power,” a charge both have denied, and that seems mainly based on their involvement in organizing weekly gatherings with other socially-minded friends to discuss issues such as the #MeToo movement, workers’ rights, creating safe spaces, and supporting fellow citizens and activists. Following Huang and Wang’s June sentencing, supporters in nine cities around the world held rallies to publicize the pair’s plight and demand their release. The two were initially arrested together in Guangzhou in September 2021, the day before Huang was planning to leave China for the U.K. to study for a master’s degree.

An article from Frontline Defenders provides more detail on the violations of due process in last week’s hasty, secretive trial:

In a decision dated 10 September 2024, the Guangdong Provincial High Court rejected human rights defenders Wang Jianbing’s and Huang Xueqin’s appeal and upheld the original verdict. However, the court failed to give advance notice to the lawyers of both human rights defenders regarding its decision to not convene a trial to consider their appeal, and its plan to announce the verdict on 10 September.

The verdict was delivered to Guangzhou Municipal No. 1 Detention Centre on 12 September. On 13 September, one of Huang Xueqin’s defence lawyers found out about the verdict when he met the woman human rights defender at the detention centre. In the afternoon of 12 September, one of Huang Xueqin’s lawyers telephoned the responsible judge at the Guangdong High Court to request for an open trial to consider the appeal, on the basis that new testimonies from new witnesses have been collected and submitted to the court. However, during the phone call the judge did not inform the lawyer that a verdict had already been reached.

Article 202 of China’s Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that verdict announcements are all to be conducted publicly, and that verdicts must be delivered to the defendants and their defence lawyers at the same time. In an official notice issued in 2019, the Supreme People’s Court and the Ministry of Justice have instructed courts to inform defence lawyers in a timely manner of important procedural decisions, including decisions to not convene a trial to consider appeals and to announce verdicts.

[…] 19 September 2024 marks three years since Wang Jianbing and Huang Xueqin were arbitrarily detained. [Source]

An article from RFA’s He Ping, translated by Luisetta Mudie, includes a statement from Huang Xueqin to her supporters, and quotes from both Huang and Wang’s attorneys:

“Because of your love and support, which kept me surrounded by a force field and able to maintain some of the spark in my soul, I haven’t been crushed into little pieces by the powerful machinery of state,” [Huang Xueqin told her supporters] in a statement posted by the Weiquanwang rights website on Sept. 15, following a visit from her lawyer Xu Kai.
[…] Lawyer Xu Kai said he had been misled by the presiding judge, who neglected to tell him the decision had already been made when they spoke about the appeal process.

“I was very angry … because I had submitted three additional witness testimonies to the court as fresh evidence, and applied for these witnesses to be allowed to testify in court,” Xu said in the Sept. 13 statement, adding that he had called the presiding judge and asked for a retrial.

“Judge Wu Jun told me that the witness testimony and the application for appearance in court had been received, and the panel would consider them,” Xu said. “He actually didn’t tell me that the appeal had already been rejected.”

[…] Wang’s defense attorney Huang Simin said the judge had told him something similar, when he applied for the court to hear evidence in the appeal.

“I learned this morning that they went ahead and upheld the original verdict without telling anyone,” Huang said. “I condemn the Guangdong High People’s Court for its blatantly illegal handling of this case.”

Xu said Huang and Wang’s jailing was a “hugely important” case that had attracted international attention, and called on the Guangdong judiciary to take steps to “correct” the handling of the case. [Source]