Chinese human rights journalist and independent writer Du Bin’s case has recently been charged with a new accusation of “attacking the country’s leader,” entering the stage of review and prosecution. Insiders revealed that the case has been transferred to the prosecutor’s office with the alleged charge of “attacking the country’s leader,” after initially informing the family of the charge as “provocation and causing trouble.”
On October 15, 2025, Du Bin was taken away by multiple public security officers from a rented house in Shunyi, Beijing, initially detained on suspicion of “provocation and causing trouble.” According to a report from Minsheng Observer website on February 9, 2026, the case has been transferred to the prosecutor’s office, with the current alleged charge being “attacking the country’s leader.” Beijing police cited “classified information” as the reason for not disclosing specific details to the family.
According to a report on Minsheng Observer website on February 9, quoting Du Bin’s sister Du Jirong, Du Bin had originally planned to purchase a plane ticket to travel to Japan before October 16, 2025. On October 15, police from the Gaoliying Police Station in Shunyi, Beijing, took him from his rented room and detained him on suspicion of “provocation and causing trouble.”
On November 21, Du Bin was officially arrested by the prosecutor’s office. An insider, Mr. Zhao, disclosed that the authorities have been expediting the case at a faster pace this time. He told reporters, “Du Bin was arrested on October 15 last year, officially arrested in late November, and two months later the case was sent to the prosecutor’s office for trial. The prosecutor’s office also sent the case back to the public security bureau for further investigation. In similar cases in the past, it often takes around half a year from arrest to transfer to the prosecutor’s office, and many cases are sent back to the public security bureau for supplementary investigation multiple times.”
Mr. Zhao also stated that the police mentioned detaining Du Bin for several years when they arrested him. He told reporters, “It is said that the national security personnel threatened to ‘substantiate’ Du Bin’s charges. Initially, they used provocation and causing trouble, but later, when they could not find specific evidence, they changed it to involving the country’s leader in the accusation. The family has already hired defense lawyers.”
The description provided by Mr. Zhao differs from the mention of “attacking the country’s leader” in the public discourse, and the specific charge is still pending official confirmation by the prosecuting authorities through legal documents.
Currently, Du Bin is being held in the Shunyi Detention Center in Beijing. Sources within the Chinese Communist Party system have revealed that the alleged charge in Du Bin’s case has been changed from “provocation and causing trouble” to “attacking the country’s leader.” However, legal experts point out that this phrase is not an official charge in current criminal law and that relevant legal documents must correspond to specific articles of the law and clearly state the statutory charges.
Beijing human rights lawyer Mr. Li stated that there is no independent offense called “attacking the country’s leader” in China’s current Criminal Law. He told reporters, “If there are actions against the country’s leader, they would typically apply existing charges based on the nature of the specific behavior, such as ‘inciting subversion of state power,’ ‘provocation and causing trouble,’ or ‘insult or defamation,’ and the specific accusation should be based on the statutory charges listed in the prosecution documents provided by the prosecutor’s office.”
Du Bin, aged 53, born in Tancheng, Shandong, previously worked for the “Beijing Youth Daily” and the “Workers’ Daily” Social Legal Weekly. Since 2004, he had been working as a photographer for the Beijing branch of “The New York Times,” and his works have been published in “The New York Times,” “Time,” “The Guardian,” and other media outlets. He has long been documenting the situations of petitioning groups and the underprivileged, publishing books such as “Vaginal Stupor” and “Tiananmen Massacre,” and producing a documentary exposing the conditions of Ma Sanjia Forced Labor Camp titled “The Woman on the Little Ghost’s Head.”
Du Bin has previously experienced detention. In June 2013, he was detained on suspicion of “leaking state secrets,” and in December 2020, he was detained for over a month on suspicion of “provocation and causing trouble” before being released. These cases had drawn attention from overseas media and human rights organizations.
On December 3, 2025, Reporters Without Borders urged the Chinese government to immediately release photojournalist Du Bin. The organization stated that Du Bin faced pressure due to his long-term investigation into human rights issues and was facing criminal charges after over forty days of detention. Antoine Bernard, Advocacy and Public Affairs Director of Reporters Without Borders, expressed concern over the authorities’ detention and lack of information disclosure regarding Du Bin, calling for continued international attention on the situation of detained journalists within China.
Legal experts mention that the Du Bin case is currently in the review and prosecution stage. According to criminal procedure, the prosecuting authority can decide whether to prosecute and the specifics of the charges, with relevant legal documents not yet publicly disclosed.