杨芝祥 (Yang Zhixiang)
Status: In custody as of August 31, 2026 (Rights Defense Network monthly roster). Charge: unknown. Detention facility: unknown.
Identity
杨芝祥 (Yang Zhixiang) is a farmer from Hengliang Subdistrict, Liuhe District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, documented as a rights-defense petitioner (维权访民). His wife is 陈素英 (Chen Suying). The prisoner database of the rights monitoring organization CHRD records him under the exact Chinese and English names, with a home address in Nanjing’s Liuhe District; the Rights Defense Network’s August 2026 roster places him in its Jiangsu group of documented prisoners.
The 2006 assault and the quest for justice (as reported)
According to a September 2023 report by the Rights Defense Network’s information center, Yang moved with his family to Nanjing city in 2006 to make a living. On the evening of October 20, 2006, he was severely beaten while working at a repair shop. The report states that the public-security injury assessment first rated his injuries as a “light injury” and then, on re-assessment at his request, downgraded the rating to a “minor injury.” Yang sought remedy through the courts, but, the report states, no court upheld his lawful rights. Having lost his capacity to work, he petitioned for justice in Beijing for years, accompanied by his wife Chen Suying. These accounts come from rights-media reporting; no police or court documents are publicly available to corroborate them independently.
Detention in September 2023
On September 15, 2023, Yang Zhixiang and Chen Suying went to the national petitions bureau in Beijing, where, according to the Rights Defense Network report, a police officer (badge number 0204901) handcuffed them and notified the local interception team, which escorted the couple back to Nanjing. On September 18, 2023, the Rights Defense Network reported that the couple had been missing for more than three days. The CHRD database entry for Yang (recorded November 13, 2023) states that he was subsequently criminally detained, with his place of detention unknown.
Current status
The Rights Defense Network’s Issue 131 monthly report, dated August 31, 2026, lists Yang Zhixiang among the political prisoners and prisoners of conscience it classifies as currently in custody. No charge, sentence, or detention facility is on record for him. Nothing is publicly documented about his status after August 31, 2026.
Sources and caveats for this profile are documented in the companion Media Profile & Archive.