The human rights lawyer looked “emaciated” and “unrecognizable”
Chinese human rights lawyer Li Heping has finally been released from prison after being held for two years.
He was tried in secret and handed a suspended sentence for “subversion of state power” last month.
According to The Guardian, several activists and NGO’s have celebrated his release while remarking on the drastic change in his appearance. “I have to say I didn’t recognize him in the [photo],” said Terry Halliday, the author of a book on China’s human rights lawyers.
“[He looked] very thin. He’s aged about 20 years. His hair has gone grey. He’s gone through a torturous time, I would say,” Halliday added. “I would defy anybody … to imagine that so much transformation could have occurred over two years.”
“This is Li Heping? Almost unrecognizable!” tweeted Liu Xiaoyuan, a prominent rights lawyer.
Heping was arrested in 2015 amid allegations that he was inciting state subversion. There have been claims during his trial that he had been subjected to torture and cruelty.
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