United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he was “very concerned” on Monday after a Chinese court sentenced two human rights lawyers to more than ten years in prison.

Su Jiyong and Ding Jiaxi were found guilty on Sunday in their trial of “undermining state authority”, which was held behind closed doors.

The two colleagues are members of the Young Citizens Movement, an organization for the defense of civil and political rights, which calls for a revision of the Constitution and accuses the government of corruption.

“I am very concerned that two prominent human rights defenders in China (…) have been sentenced to long prison terms, which is against international human rights norms,” ​​Mr Turk said in a statement.

“Human rights law states that people cannot be prosecuted or punished for expressing criticism of government policies,” he added, insisting there is a need for fair trials, proper procedures to be followed and allegations of ill-treatment to be investigated.

According to the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), Su Jiyong, who had called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to resign, especially because of the way he handled the new coronavirus pandemic, was sentenced to serve 14 years in prison. from Shandong Court (East).

As for Ding Jiaxi, “he was sentenced to 12 years in prison and banned from holding any public office for three years,” his wife Luo Shengchun told AFP.

Human rights defenders often express concern about the impartiality of courts in China, where guilty verdicts are handed down in 99% of cases.

“I will discuss with the authorities (of China) about these cases,” said Volker Turk, pointing out that it is important to “take measures” to protect rights such as freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly.

Ding Jiaxi was arrested in December 2019 after attending a secret meeting attended by human rights defenders and lawyers, including Su Jiyong.

Mr Su, a former law professor, was arrested in February 2020 after postings on social networking sites criticizing President Xi Jinping’s handling of crises, particularly the pandemic and protests in Hong Kong.