BANGKOK, Thailand (22 April 2025)–The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) strongly condemns the politically motivated sentencing of Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei to 11 months in prison and a fine of 10,000 yuan (USD 1,370).
FORUM-ASIA demands the immediate quashing of Lu Siwei’s conviction. We call for his unconditional release. The judicial persecution of lawyers and human rights defenders (HRDs) in China must end.
The sentence was handed down by the Chenghua District Court in a closed-door trial held on 18 April 2025. Lu Siwei was accused of “illegally crossing the border” from China to Laos. This charge demonstrates the Chinese Government’s long-standing strategy of criminalizing HRDs through legal prosecution while also denying them access to due process.
The court’s decision to proceed in secrecy and to deny public access to the trial is highly concerning. During the hearing, spectators were not allowed and courtroom passes were not issued. Lu Siwei’s friends and supporters were intimidated through surveillance and police harassment.
Transnational repression
As a lawyer, Lu Siwei has represented people in politically sensitive cases, including the 12 Hong Kong activists arrested in 2020 and fellow Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng.
Since 2021, Lu Siwei has been systematically oppressed for his human rights work. He has been disbarred from legal practice, banned from international travel, put on intrusive surveillance, and repeatedly harassed.
His disbarment came after allegations that one of his online speeches claimed to “endanger national security.” This move is part of the broader crackdown on independent legal professionals in China. Lu Siwei’s arrest is a part of transnational repression, with grave implications for the safety of exiled HRDs across the region.
On 23 July 2023, Lu Siwei–who held a US visa and a Chinese passport–was arrested by police in Laos while trying to travel to Thailand. He was planning to fly to the US to safely reunite with his family.
Despite the international community’s calls to protect Lu Siwei, Laos forcibly repatriated him to China after a month-long detention. This incident paints a troubling pattern wherein some governments in the ASEAN region are evidently helping China target dissidents. Instead of offering HRDs’ protection, these governments remain complicit with China’s efforts to silence and punish dissent. This is effectively turning the region into a hostile space for exiled HRDs and activists.
Call to action
“Lu Siwei’s sentencing is a disturbing pattern of criminalization and intimidation faced by human rights defenders in China and across the region. This not only violates China’s obligations under international human rights law but also emboldens other authoritarian regimes to follow suit,” said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.
FORUM-ASIA calls on ASEAN member states to cease all cooperation with transnational repression. ASEAN member states should uphold their international human rights obligations and ensure that their territories do not become extension zones of authoritarian control.
We call on the international community to express solidarity with Lu Siwei and to join our calls for justice and protection of all HRDs.
This post was originally published on FORUM-ASIA.