On 21 July 2022, during a meeting with human rights defender Wang Jianbing in detention, the human rights defender’s lawyer was informed that the Guangzhou procuratorate has sent the case back to the police for a second and final round of supplementary investigation.

Under article 175 of China’s Criminal Procedural Law, a procuratorate may send a case back to the police for supplementary investigation no more than twice. Each supplementary investigation must be concluded within a month. After the conclusion of supplementary investigation, a procuratorate must make a decision on whether to prosecute a case or not within a month, and the deadline may be extended by another 15 days if a case is deemed “major or complicated”. It may decide to not prosecute a case if it deems the evidence provided by the police insufficient to meet the requirements of prosecution.

This development takes place 334 days since Wang Jianbing was detained as a reprisal for his peaceful and legitimate exercise of his rights to freedom of assembly and association.