Prominent legal scholar and activist Xu Zhiyong, who has been detained since February 2020, has for the first time been allowed to meet with his lawyer through two video calls. During these conversations, Xu told his lawyer that he was subjected to torture when he was detained under “residential surveillance under designated location” and described harsh conditions in the current detention centre. Originally detained for “inciting subversion of state power”, the People’s Procuratorate of Linyi City informed Xu’s lawyer on 20 January that he is now charged with “subversion of state power”. Given Xu’s treatment over the last year, there are grave concerns that he could be at risk of further torture and other ill-treatment.
