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Research record. Last verified August 31, 2026. Facts, attributed statements, and unresolved claims are distinguished below. No photograph is reproduced because reuse rights have not been established.
Zhang Haitao is a Han Chinese human-rights advocate who lived in Xinjiang. Public reporting and UN records associate his prosecution with online criticism of government policy, human-rights advocacy concerning Uyghurs, and sharing publicly available information with overseas media.
Mainland Chinese Communist authorities detained him in June 2015. On January 15, 2016, the Urumqi Intermediate People’s Court imposed 15 years for “inciting subversion of state power” and five years for “providing intelligence overseas,” combining them into a 19-year prison sentence. It also imposed five years’ deprivation of political rights and confiscation of property totaling 120,000 renminbi. The Xinjiang Higher People’s Court rejected his appeal and upheld the sentence on November 23, 2016.
Current status and location
UN experts stated on February 28, 2025 that Zhang Haitao remained imprisoned under the 19-year sentence. In a 2025 response, the government of the People’s Republic of China stated that he was serving the sentence in Shaya Prison of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. The prison location is therefore recorded as an attributed official statement; this review found no equally current independent confirmation of the facility.
Conditions, health, and family contact
UN experts reported allegations of torture or other ill-treatment and difficulties experienced by family members seeking visits. They stated that requested details of any investigation, medical examinations, or judicial inquiry had not been provided. The government’s 2025 response denied torture or degrading treatment and stated that four family visits had occurred since 2017 and that Zhang received comprehensive quarterly examinations. These assertions conflict. This profile records both positions without treating either as an independently verified current medical assessment.
No recent independent medical assessment or sufficiently current verified family-contact record was found. The public page must not present older allegations as a confirmed present medical diagnosis.
Why this case matters
Zhang Haitao’s case concerns freedom of expression, the right to communicate human-rights information across borders, due process, and the exceptionally severe use of national-security charges against peaceful public advocacy.
Free China Movement position
The Free China Movement calls for Zhang Haitao’s immediate and unconditional release; independent access to legal counsel, family, and medical care; a credible investigation of reported mistreatment; restoration of his civil and political rights; and accountability for violations of internationally protected rights.
Sources
- UN Special Procedures communication AL CHN 5/2025, February 28, 2025
- Government of the People’s Republic of China response to UN Special Procedures, AL CHN 1/2025
- UN Special Procedures communication AL CHN 4/2021
- PEN America, “China’s Rejection of Activist’s Appeal a Disappointing Setback,” November 28, 2016
- Chinese Human Rights Defenders, “Zhang Haitao”
Free China 