When the facts and the law don’t matter, a guilty verdict is only a matter of time

‘There has been a powerful hand behind the scenes interfering and manipulating the trial of my case.’

– A quote from Ma Yanhu’s appeal letter, seen by CSW

For two decades, Ma Yanhu worked as a tour organiser for hundreds of Chinese Muslims looking to make the Hajj pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Based in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in north-central China, and originally trained as an Islamic theologian, Ma’s work involved booking flights, arranging essential travel documents, and even leading private tour groups to the city until the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) prohibited it.

Because of this, he was detained on 20 March 2023, accused by the authorities of ‘organising others to illegally cross the border’.

‘They politicised and criminalised the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage, which is not illegal, and insisted on finding me guilty.’

The Hajj pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims who are physically and financially able to do so are required to complete the journey at least once in their lifetime.

Starting in 2018 however, with the introduction of Revised Regulations on Religious Affairs, the CCP began to crack down on the Hajj pilgrimage as part of a wider effort to ‘sinicize’ and control religious practice across the country. The authorities intensified restrictions on freedom of movement for virtually all residents of areas populated mainly by religious minorities, and in December 2020 new rules came into effect mandating that all Hajj trips must be organised by the Islamic Association of China, which falls under the authority of the CCP’s United Front Work Department (UFWD).

In response to these increasing restrictions, and no doubt all too aware of the consequences for breaking them, Ma stopped leading tour groups to Mecca and helped only with booking flights and applying for tourist or Umrah visas – the latter often referred to as the ‘lesser’ or ‘minor’ pilgrimage and differing from Hajj in that it is not one of the pillars of Islam and can be undertaken at any time of the year.

But this was not enough.

‘If they decide someone is guilty, they must be guilty, regardless of the facts and the law.’

Ma was formally arrested on 24 April 2023 – five weeks after he was first detained – meaning that he could be held for up to 13 and a half months before going to trial, except at this point the charge against him had changed.

He now stood accused of ‘illegal business operations’, a particularly common charge levelled religious leaders in China that not only allows for the criminalisation of a broad set of vaguely defined activities, but is also often used specifically to undermine a leader’s reputation and credibility.

In Ma’s case, CSW sources believe the charge was likely introduced to gain the Tongxin County Procuratorate’s approval for Ma’s arrest because the initial charge lacked evidence. A prosecution letter was issued on 24 October 2023, however, contrary to standard procedure the court did not set a date for Ma’s trial because it had been informed that the letter needed to be amended.

‘This is clearly a deliberate attempt […] to circumvent the trial going to the Supreme People’s Court, in order to manipulate the judgement and forcibly convict me.’

A second prosecution letter was issued six months later on 15 April 2024, this time with the charges changed back to ‘illegally crossing the border’. The case finally proceeded to trial, and on 21 June Ma was sentenced to eight years in prison.

He appealed to the WuZhong Intermediate People’s Court shortly afterwards, arguing that the charges against him violate the Chinese Constitution and China’s Anti-Monopoly Law by upholding a system in which all Hajj pilgrimages must be organised through the Islamic Association of China, which charges for its services.

The appeal was rejected on 19 August.

‘Acts of overriding the law and doing whatever they want, interfering with judicial independence, manipulating trials, and undermining the implementation of the law are a flagrant violation of the dignity of China’s laws and a ruthless mockery of the country’s justice system.’

At the time of writing, Ma remains in WuZhong City Prison, with no further avenue for appeal. The charges against him are trumped up and unlawful. He should not have spent the past 22 months in detention, and he should not be there a day longer.

The CCP must overturn his sentence and ensure his immediate and unconditional release, and in turn they must create an enabling environment in which every Chinese citizen is free to fulfil the fundamental practice of their religion or belief.

By CSW’s Press and Public Affairs Officer Ellis Heasley