Yang Tongyan (pen name Yang Tianshui) was arrested in January 2006, tried behind closed doors and sentenced to 12 years in prison in May 2006 for ‘subversion’. His conviction was based on his writings in support of political and democratic change in China. Amnesty International considers Yang Tongyan to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his human rights to freedom of expression and association. The organization is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.
