Commentary
A recent study of more than a thousand cases of individuals charged with crimes between 2008 and 2022 in China reveals a troubling trend: the period spent waiting for trial and sentencing has grown significantly longer.
Thinking About China
Opinion
Under China’s Xi, Rights Defenders Face Twice as Long Periods in Detention Awaiting Their Sentences
A prison guard stands in a courtyard inside the No. 1 Detention Center in Beijing on Oct. 25, 2012. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
Peter Dahlin
Author
Peter Dahlin is the founder of the NGO Safeguard Defenders and the co-founder of the Beijing-based Chinese NGO China Action (2007–2016). He is the author of “Trial by Media” and a contributor to “The People’s Republic of the Disappeared.” He lived in Beijing from 2007 until he was detained and placed in a secret jail in 2016, and subsequently deported and banned. Prior to living in China, he worked for the Swedish government on gender-equality issues. He now lives in Madrid.
