Current custody · Region: Mainland China · Last verified: 2026-08-28
Zhang Yi 张毅 — Dissident Profile
Zhang Yi (张毅) is a Chinese pro-democracy activist and human-rights defender from Wuhan, Hubei, whose political activity dates to the 1989 pro-democracy movement.
1989 movement
Radio Free Asia reported in August 2026 that Zhang was a Wuhan University law student in 1989 and one of the student leaders in the Wuhan-area movement. RFA further reported that he was sentenced to two years after June Fourth. A 2023 RFA report quoted Zhang directly in Wuhan and also identified him as a dissident who participated in the 1989 movement.
2026 detention in Lhasa
According to Amnesty International, Zhang was detained in Lhasa on July 1, 2026 while visiting Sera Monastery with his younger brother. Amnesty says he showed a photograph of the Dalai Lama on his phone while trying to communicate with a Tibetan worshipper. His family later received a Criminal Detention Notice dated July 18, and Amnesty says he was formally arrested on July 28 on suspicion of “inciting separatism” (煽动分裂国家罪). He is reported held at Lhasa Detention Centre.
Health and prior mistreatment
Amnesty International describes Zhang as a person with a disability and has raised concern for his wellbeing in detention. Amnesty and RFA report that Zhang suffered torture or other ill-treatment during an earlier period of imprisonment, with serious hearing loss. These claims remain source-attributed pending primary prison or medical documentation.
Related records
His exact date of birth and some primary records from the 1989 case remain unresolved. Missing facts are not inferred from sentence arithmetic or later summaries.