Alert: Chinese court imprisons two defenders for commemorating Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo
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Human rights defenders Zou Wei and Zan Aizong given sentences of at least three years
(Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders—February 17, 2026) On February 13, 2026, a Chinese court sentenced two human rights defenders to prison on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Activist Zou Wei and writer Zan Aizong had participated in a seaside commemoration of Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, who died in custody in 2017. A court in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province sentenced Zou Wei to three and a half years and Zan Aizong to three years.
On July 13, 2024—the seventh anniversary of Liu’s death—a group of individuals, including Zou and Zan, gathered to remember Liu at the Qiantang River estuary in Haining City, Zhejiang Province. The group posted photos online of their tribute. The next day, Hangzhou police detained six of them before releasing everyone but Zou Wei and Zan Aizong. The two men were criminally detained on July 20 on charges of “picking quarrels.” In August 2024, Gongshu District police in Hangzhou formally arrested the pair on the same charge.
Their trial opened on September 19, 2025, though no verdict was pronounced until the February 13, 2026 hearing. Zou Wei pled not guilty and was represented by a lawyer of his choice. CHRD is seeking further information regarding Zan Aizong’s access to a lawyer and plea. Zou Wei’s mother attended the September hearing but several other supporters were denied entry by authorities. They are currently detained at the Gongshu District Detention Center in Hangzhou City.
Zou Wei is a member of the Zhejiang Democracy Party, a loose group of pro-democracy activists, and Zan Aizong is an independent writer, former journalist, and member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center.
In March 2025, CHRD published research showing that in the previous six years Chinese authorities frequently used the charge “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” to silence people exercising their or defending others’ human rights. In September 2025, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, identified the charge as overly broad and vague, and called for its repeal. The law has also been criticized domestically: in February 2023, a delegate to the National People’s Congress said the law should be revised because it is ill-defined and prone to abuse.
China’s Constitution and international human rights treaties guarantee the freedoms of assembly and expression. Chinese authorities should immediately and unconditionally dismiss all charges and free those imprisoned merely for exercising these fundamental rights.
For more information, please contact:
Sophie Richardson, Co-Executive Director, Chinese Human Rights Defenders,
sophierichardson[at]nchrd.org, +1 917 721 7473
Angeli Datt, Research and Advocacy Coordinator, Chinese Human Rights Defenders,
angelidatt[at]nchrd.org, +1 934 444 6155
Shane Yi, Researcher, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, shaneyi[at]nchrd.org