On February 10, 2011, the Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Zhu Yufu (朱虞夫), a 59-year-old Hangzhou-based dissident, to seven years of imprisonment and three years of deprivation of political rights for “inciting subversion of state power.” Zhu said he would appeal verdict.

Zhu’s wife Jian Hangli (姜杭莉) and their son Zhu Ang (朱昂) attended the hearing, which lasted for less than 20 minutes. Zhu Ang told Human Rights in China (HRIC) “Our family absolutely cannot accept this ruling; the authorities are outrageous and arbitrary. We just cannot acquiesce to such a heavy sentence. My father is nearly 60 years old and ;in poor health—putting him in jail for seven years is too inhumane, too cruel.” One of his defense lawyers, Li Dunyong (李敦勇), said, “This is politics, not law.”

The verdict states that the court based its conviction on the fact that he was previously imprisoned for organizing the illegal organization, China Democratic Party (CDP), and that he continued, after his release, to engage in activities as a CDP member to endanger state security. The verdict lists those activities, including: 1) fundraising for political prisoners and their families in hardship; 2) publishing, via overseas websites and media outlets, speech that attacked and slandered China’s state power and socialism; 3) sending, via the Internet, material that he wrote, including the song “Go behind Enemy Lines” (到敌人后方去), and the poem “It’s Time” (是时候了), to incite the public to gather illegally.

The verdict also states that Zhu was given a heavy sentence because “his protracted engagement in criminal activities that endanger national security constitutes a major crime” and because he is a “repeated offender.”

In February 2011, the Chinese authorities, in an effort to suppress Jasmine Rally activities, cracked down harshly on dissidents and independent intellectuals. Zhu was detained on March 5 on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power,” and was formally arrested on April 11. He was tried on January 31, 2012.

This is Zhu’s third conviction. Previously, for his role in founding the China Democratic Party, he was convicted of “subversion of state power” and served seven years in prison (1999-2006).  In 2007, one year after his release, Zhu was tried for “obstructing official business” and sentenced to two years in prison.

For more information on Zhu Yufu, see:

• Verdict against Zhu Yufu (Chinese), February 10, 2012
• “Poem Cited among Evidence in Zhu Yufu’s ‘Incitement’ Trial; No Verdict,” January 31, 2012
• “Application for Medical Parole for Zhu Yufu” (Chinese), July 12, 2011
• “Application for a Permit to Hold a Demonstration to Assert Rights and Call for Political Reform,” November 30, 2010
• “Monthly Brief: April 2008,” April 30, 2008  
• “Monthly Brief: March 2008,” March 31, 2008
• “Monthly Brief: June 2006,” June 30, 2006
• “Chinese Dissidents in Hunger Strike for Better Prison Conditions,” December 31, 2002
• Jan van der Made, “The Rise and Fall of the China Democracy Party,” China Rights Forum, Winter 2000