By Kevin M. Mathewson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China — Ni Yulan, a disabled Chinese land rights activist has been released from jail after serving 30 months of her two and a half year sentence.

Yulan, a lawyer who was working to defend property rights, was detained during a wave of arrests in 2011. While her initial sentence handed down was 32 months imprisonment for “causing a disturbance” and fraud, an appeals court dismissed her fraud conviction in 2012, reducing her sentence by two months.

Yulan’s supporters said the charges were spurious and her true crime in the eyes of the government was protesting against controversial land grabs to make way for development, including the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and launch legal battles for people forcibly evicted from their homes.

“Of course the sentence was unfair … Ni is innocent,” her lawyer Cheng Hai said after his client’s sentencing.

Yulan’s husband, Dong Jiqin, was also jailed for two years in April 2012 for “causing a disturbance”.

Yulan alleged that, while in prison, she became ill and was not afforded medical treatment resulting in her now poor health. Yulan uses a wheelchair because of the ‘mistreatment by police’ over the years. Yet, the 54 year old insists she will fight on, and has threatened to sue the Beijing public security bureau in the Xicheng district.

“If we don’t fight for our rights, we will just have to wait for our death,” Yulan said. “I want them to return my assets. They’ve torn down my home without giving any compensation, leaving us homeless,” she further states.

According to BBC, the imprisonment of Yulan has caused international concern.

Yulan’s daughter, Dong Xuan, said about 10 supporters of Ni who greeted her mother outside the prison with a red banner were detained by police.

Both Yulan and her husband are known for providing legal help to people whose homes have been seized by the government.

For further information, please see:

Asian News – Ni Yulan, disabled activist opposed to land grabs in China, has been released – 7 October 2013

Yahoo! News – Disabled Chinese land rights activist released after two-and-a-half-years in jail – 6 October 2013

Aljazeera – China lawyer says disability ignored in jail – 6 October 2013

BBC News – China land rights activist Ni Yulan released from jail – 5 October 2013

The Telegraph – Disabled human rights lawyer jailed in China for ‘provoking trouble’ – 10 April 2012