His conviction was primarily based on seven social media posts, in total approximately 600 characters, in which Pu criticised government officials and polices between 2011 and 2014.
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Amnesty International welcomed the suspended sentence but condemned the guilty verdict.
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However, the court did find Pu guilty, accepting the Communist Party’s assertion.
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David always stood up for justice and justice is what has been delivered today”, he said in a statement on behalf of his family. Myanmar migrants Win Zaw Htun , right, and Zaw Lin , left, both 22, arrive at court in Koh Samui on Thursday.
The lawyer has also represented high-profile dissidents like artist Ai Weiwei. Correspondents say that the sentencing could mean that Pu is monitored during the suspension period, with the possibility of a reduced sentence if he demonstrates good behaviour. The prominent Chinese lawyer is expected to be freed after a Beijing court on Tuesday gave him a suspended jail sentence after finding him guilty in a case involving online comments critical of the ruling Communist Party.
Pu Zhiqiang, one of China’s most prominent human rights lawyers, escaped jail after he was convicted of “inciting racial hatred”.
Plain clothes security personnel escort a supporter of human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang away from journalists near the No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court in Beijing on December 22, 2015.
The sentence could have been worse – he faced up to eight years for the series of social media posts -but is still drawing criticism from lawyers and rights groups that see Pu’s nearly 19-month detention, and Tuesday’s sentence, as a move to use vague, catch-all charges to stifle free speech and the Chinese lawyers who seek to protect it.
Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch’s China director, said Pu’s sentencing made a mockery of president Xi’s claims to be advancing the rule of law in China.
Drifting into law in the early 1990s after participating in the 1989 pro-democracy Tiananmen Square movement, Pu soon understood he could make a difference to people’s lives by defending them.
“We of course hoped he would be acquitted of charges”, said Lawyer Shao Baojun, “but we knew the chance was slim”.
Though he has finally gone home, after falling sick in jail – he was imprisoned a year ago without charges – he will not have to face further imprisonment.
However, the court’s verdict said Pu’s tweets on Xinjiang had “provoked strong ethnic hatred and confrontational feelings” among internet users. While the suspended sentence was a slight positive for Mr. Pu, his conviction would bar him from legal practice and shackle his advocacy work.
One US diplomat, who had tried to attend court as an observer, was jostled along the street as he tried to read a statement condemning China’s treatment of Pu.
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Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang talks to the media in Beijing in this July 20, 2012 file pho … Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the case had been handled “in accordance with the law”, and that “foreign governments should respect China’s judicial sovereignty”.
