Chinese courts are systematically weaponizing vague national security and public order laws to silence human rights defenders, Amnesty International’s new report exposes the judiciary’s central role in sustaining the Beijing authorities’ crackdown on fundamental freedoms.
The research briefing analyses more than 100 official judicial documents from 68 cases involving 64 human rights defenders over the past decade. It details how Chinese courts are rubber-stamping convictions against peaceful activists, journalists, lawyers, and ordinary citizens, often on the basis of their words, associations or international contacts.