Xie, who has defended Christian and pro-democracy activists, was detained in January 2022.

The 54-year-old faced years of surveillance by authorities over remarks judged critical of the Chinese government and ruling Communist Party.

The Changsha Intermediate People's Court in central China sentenced Xie on Monday to five years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power," HRW said in a statement published in New York the same day.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian criticized HRW but did not address Xie's specific case when asked about it at a news briefing on Tuesday.

The organization "possesses absolutely no credibility and is not worth commenting on," he said.

Xie's former wife Chen Guiqiu wrote on social media that no defense lawyer was present at the trial and that Xie intends to appeal against the ruling.

Xie could theoretically be released in January 2027, given the time he has already spent in detention, HRW said.

According to a copy of the 2022 indictment, seen by AFP, authorities accused Xie of being "under the influence of anti-China forces" and "having the idea of overturning the political system."

"Via his accounts on domestic and foreign social networks" and "interviews granted to foreign media," the indictment said Xie made "remarks attacking and defaming the authority of the state, the socialist system and the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party."

His trial took place behind closed doors in October 2025, according to HRW.

"This case not only aimed to persecute a brave human rights lawyer like Xie, but to intimidate all lawyers seeking to protect Chinese people's rights," HRW's deputy Asia director Maya Wang said in a statement.

"The Chinese government should immediately quash the conviction" and release Xie "unconditionally," HRW said.

Xie served nearly two years in jail after being arrested in July 2015 during a crackdown targeting several hundred human rights activists and their defenders.

That campaign, three years after President Xi Jinping came to power, signaled harsher official attitudes towards dissenters and advocates for democratization of China's authoritarian political system.