Security was tight outside the court, with the courthouse cordoned off and scores of police officers and unidentified men rough handling, pushing and shooing away supporters, journalists and foreign diplomats who tried to get near.
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The Weibo posts which ultimately got Pu arrested included criticism of the Chinese government’s operation against the ethnic Uighur Muslims in the province of Xinjiang.
“Lawyers and civil society leaders such as Mr Pu should not be subject to continuing repression but should be allowed to contribute to the building of a prosperous and stable China”, Biers said.
Pu – a participant in the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations in which the Chinese army shot dead hundreds civilians – has since earned a reputation as a dogged defense lawyer known for taking on hard and politically sensitive cases.
“Secondly, he said that if these microblog posts had caused injury to other people, he apologises for it. Thirdly, he had no intention to incite ethnic hatred or pick quarrels and provoke trouble”.
Chinese police attempted to block filming by foreign journalists and pushed television correspondents, including the BBC’s, away from the cameras.
A former colleague of Pu told the Post that his popularity has led to him being perceived as a threat amid pressure on lawyers and rights advocates.
Sky News has filmed police in China forcibly clearing the streets of witnesses as one of the country’s most prominent human rights lawyers goes on trial in Beijing.
Last year, several dissidents associated with the New Citizens Movement, a loose grouping of activists that sought to promote rule of law and democracy, were sentenced to prison.
Mo Shaoping, Pu’s lawyer, said in an interview after the trial that his client doesn’t deny writing the posts, but that the court had to prove intent or damage.
A verdict has not been announced yet but critics say it will be an important indicator of China’s policy pertaining to human rights, especially free speech.
Dan Biers, deputy political counsellor of the USA embassy in Beijing, called for Pu’s release and criticised the “vague charges” that have been handed down against Pu.
The scuffles with police and plainclothes agents started when a couple dozen foreign journalists tried to approach the courthouse while they were following about a dozen Western diplomats who unsuccessfully tried to attend what was meant to be a public proceeding.
After 18 months of investigation, however, the prosecutor cited just seven comments by Pu on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, as evidence supporting the charges. Pu also mocked Mao Xinyu, who is Mao Zedong’s grandson.
Since coming to power in late 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping has spearheaded a crackdown on freedom of expression, civil activists and human rights lawyers.
Pu Zhiqiang faces charges of “inciting racial hatred” and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” which could earn him eight years imprisonment.
“Pu is a very special person”, his lawyer, Shang Baojun said before the trial.
The court’s verdict, expected in the next few weeks, will be seen as a bellwether for human rights activism in China.
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“He admitted the seven microblogs were written by him, there was no issue with it, this is a fact”, Mo said, recounting what Pu said in court.
