He Jiankui released in 'gene-edited baby' case, sentenced to three years

Recently, some netizens posted that He Jiankui, the former associate professor of Southern University of Science and Technology, who was involved in the controversial "gene-edited baby" case, has been released from prison

The Luohu District People's Court of Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province made a judgment in November 2021 in a civil case in which He Jiankui was the plaintiff.

On December 30, 2019, the "gene-edited babies" case involving three defendants including He Jiankui was publicly pronounced in the first instance of the Nanshan District People's Court in Shenzhen

The court heard and found that since 2016, He Jiankui, a former associate professor of Southern University of Science and Technology, learned that human embryo gene editing technology could obtain commercial benefits, that is, conspired with Zhang Renli, a medical institution in Guangdong Province, and Qin Jinzhou, a medical institution in Shenzhen, in knowingly violating the state.

The court held that the three defendants did not have the qualifications to practice as doctors, pursued fame and fortune, deliberately violated the relevant state regulations on scientific research and medical management, exceeded the bottom line of scientific research and medical ethics, and rashly applied gene editing technology to human assisted reproductive medicine, disrupting medical treatment.