One of China’s most prominent human rights lawyers was tried yesterday over online comments critical of the ruling Communist Party, as police scuffled with supporters and journalists outside the courthouse.
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A US diplomat, an European Union diplomat, several foreign journalists, and Chinese protesters were reportedly “manhandled” and “assaulted” by police officers outside the trial of Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang in Beijing on Monday, according to reports by the Guardian.
Pu Zhiqiang has been detained for 19 months.
The lawyer was detained shortly after attending a May 2014 meeting to discuss commemorating 25 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre, at a time when authorities were keeping a lid on any public commemorations of the event.
Human rights groups described Pu’s trial as “an act of political persecution”, marking another milestone in a continuing crackdown on civil society under President Xi Jinping that has seen activists, lawyers and artists imprisoned.
Mr Mo said the court did not ask Pu specifically whether he was pleading guilty. “He said some of these Weibo posts might be cutting, but were not meant to hurt other people”.
Chinese police also interfered with reporters by trying to block cameramen from filming as they pulled journalists like the BBC’s John Sudworth away from the courthouse.
Police had tried to prevent Biers from reading the statement near the courthouse, Reuters reports.
An online search for Pu Zhiqiang’s Chinese name on the popular social media platform Weibo said the results were blocked due to “relevant laws, regulations and policies”.
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.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China said in a statement that the authorities’ “effort to deter news coverage is a gross violation of Chinese government rules governing foreign correspondents”.
The U.S. Embassy is “concerned” about the “vague charges” leveled against Pu, Dan Biers, deputy political counselor at the embassy, told a small scrum of reporters as police shoved and shouted “go” to drown out his words. Beijing prosecutors indicted Pu this May on the two current charges, but dropped charges of “inciting separatism” and “illegally obtaining personal information”.
“The authorities have made it clear that they see rights lawyers in particular as enemies of the state…” The case is centered around seven posts on Pu’s microblog criticizing ethnic policy and government officials in the restive province of Xinjiang, where Beijing has been working to quell unrest and outbursts of fighting amongst its Uighur minority. Pu was selected as the “Person of the Year in Legal Affairs in 2013” by Renwu Magazine, which is published by state-owned People’s Daily Press.
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Also on Monday, a Beijing court has recommended a suspended death sentence for the wife of disgraced Politburo member Bo Xilai be commuted to life in prison, after she showed repentance and committed no further crime, Chinese media said on Monday.
