China: Systematic Arbitrary Detentions May Be Crimes Against Humanity

March 5, 2025 Comments Off

New research documents 1,545 prison sentences between 2019 to 2024, affirming UN concern

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders – March 5, 2025) Chinese authorities have arbitrarily detained thousands and convicted 1,545 prisoners of conscience in the past six years for peacefully advocating or exercising human rights, the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) said today in a new report.

CHRD’s analysis, “In a Prison Cell Waiting for Daybreak”: Arbitrary Detention in China may Constitute Crimes Against Humanity, echoes a concern set out by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention since 2017: that the scope and scale of wrongful detention by Chinese authorities may constitute a crime against humanity.

“Every element of the Chinese criminal justice system—the police, procuratorate, and courts—is implicated in locking people away on baseless charges in blatant violation of the government’s domestic and international human rights obligations,” said Sophie Richardson, Co-Executive Director of CHRD. “Posting critical comments on line, advocating for civil liberties, and speaking out against human rights abuses are not crimes.”

For prisoners of conscience the stakes are high: the average sentence handed down during this period was six years, rising to seven years for national security charges. During this period three prisoners of conscience (PoCs)—Tashpolat Tiyip, Sattar Sawut, and Yang Hengjun—have been sentenced to death, and two—Rahile Dawut and Abdurazaq Sayim—have been sentenced to life in prison. 48 PoCs were given sentences of a decade or more.

Women activists and marginalized communities, including Tibetans and Uyghurs, number disproportionately higher among those wrongfully detained. Of the over 700 older prisoners of conscience, defined as over the age of 60, two-thirds are women.

More people in Hong Kong were convicted of “subversion” and “inciting subversion” than in mainland China, according to available data during the coverage period. Even after serving their sentences, PoCs in mainland China continue to be subjected to arbitrary deprivation of their liberty.

Authorities frequently used three crimes or types of charges against PoCs: “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a crime identified by domestic activists and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as overly broad and vague; “organizing and using a cult to undermine implementation of the law,” a charge often used to target religious believers; and crimes in the category of “endangering national security.” Beijing’s frequent use of national security charges shows the leadership’s reliance on the legal system as an instrument of political suppression, and its use of arbitrary detention nationwide demonstrates the widespread, systematic nature of the abuses.

Beijing’s concerted efforts to choke off the exercise and promotion of human rights have implications inside and outside the country. Human rights defenders (HRDs) are among the only individuals willing to try to challenge abusive state policies and practices, to push for reform and accountability, and to share information on critical issues ranging from women’s rights and public health to religious freedom and labor rights.

When defenders are imprisoned for this work and silenced, people and governments around the world are left without information about domestic developments, and without allies for reform. Worse still, the impunity Chinese government officials enjoy at home emboldens them to commit abuses abroad.

The Chinese government’s use of arbitrary detention to silence critics and punish HRDs is not new, but under Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping the scope and scale of violations has expanded. In 2022, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights determined that the Chinese government’s policies and treatment of Muslim groups in the Uyghur region may constitute crimes against humanity.

“Two different UN bodies have now expressed concern that Beijing may be committing some of the most serious crimes under international law, reflecting an alarming trend,” said Richardson. “Concerned governments and the United Nations should redouble efforts to pursue investigations into and accountability for all of Beijing’s grave crimes.”

(Download and read the Full Report here. )

For more information, please contact:

Sophie Richardson, Co-Executive Director, CHRD, sophierichardson@nchrd.org

Renee Xia, Co-Executive Director, CHRD, reneexia@nchrd.org

Shane Yi, Researcher, CHRD, shaneyi@nchrd.org