Chinese human rights lawyer Ni Yulan was released from prison on October 5 after completing a two-and-a-half year sentence.
She is reported to be in ill health as a result of an illness left untreated during her imprisonment. Ni Yulan, a Christian activist and lawyer, was tried in 2011 and sentenced in 2012 to two years and eight months for fraud and creating a disturbance. The fraud conviction was later dropped and her sentence was reduced by two months. Her husband was sentenced to two years.
Before she was disbarred, Ni worked on a variety of rights-related cases, including a number relating to religious freedom. From 2001 onwards she specialised in housing rights, defending victims of forced eviction. In 2002, she was beaten and tortured for more than 50 hours while in police detention. As a result, she has been left permanently disabled and unable to walk without crutches.
