Xu Na
ON JULY 19, 2020, Xu was arrested alongside ten other citizen journalists in Beijing for publishing photos online of Beijing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their lawyers were denied certain rights protected by Chinese law, including copying and requesting court documents, as well as being present during important case proceedings. She was indicted on April 2, 2021 and detained at Beijing Women’s Prison until her sentencing on January 14, 2022. She was then sentenced to eight years in prison.
Case Summary
Xu Na / 許那 – Gender: Female, Born: 1968
Current status: Reportedly disappeared in late 2023 from Beijing Women’s Prison
Detention Date: 07/19/2020
Reason for Detention: Publishing photos and articles online that exposed the severity of the pandemic and lockdowns in China
Indicted Date: 04/02/2021
Date of Sentence: 01/14/2022
Past Detentions: In 2001, Xu was sentenced to 5 years in prison and endured torture at Beijing Women’s Prison. In 2008, Xu and her husband, Yu Zhou, were detained before the 2008 Olympics. Guards at Beijing City Tongzhou District Detention Center tortured her husband to death within two weeks of his detention.
Reports of Torture: Yes
Current location: Unknown. According to a March 2024 report by Weiquanwang, Xu was taken by authorities out of Beijing Women’s Prison, where she was serving her 8-year sentence.
Personal Details
Xu Na is a painter and an artist. The artwork below was drawn by her before the persecution in 1999.
