Police and plainclothes security officials were out in force to try to stop supporters and journalists reaching the court where Pu Zhiqiang was sentenced for “inciting ethnic hatred” and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.
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In some of posts, Pu had called for reform in Beijing’s policies toward Xinjiang and Tibet and the religious and ethnic minorities in the regions, while others had criticized two government figures and a pro-government author.
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Pu was given a lighter punishment after a public trial as he confessed his crime honestly, pleaded guilty and repented his guilt.
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However, Chinese media had previously quoted his lawyer as saying he denied the charges – though his lawyer also said Pu had apologized during his trial for any offense caused. Pu accepted the verdict and said he will not appeal.
Pu Zhiqiang, who has spent almost 19 months in detention, had faced up to eight years in prison according to one of his lawyers, Shang Baojun. However, Becquelin noted that a similar sentence was previously given to another lawyer Gao Zhisheng – and Gao was eventually jailed during the last week of his probation.
While Pu is unlikely to spend any more time in prison for this case, he has already been imprisoned for 19 months and will not be allowed to practice law.
Pu was detained in May 2014 after he participated in a private commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, and he was formally arrested that June.
Human rights group Amnesty International welcomed the suspended sentence but condemned the guilty verdict. We urge Chinese authorities to vacate Mr. Pu’s conviction immediately and unconditionally.
Ren Jianyu, a former lower level official who was represented by Mr Pu after he was sent to a hard labour camp for criticising authorities, said the sentence was unjust.
Pu Zhiqiang, an outspoken human-rights lawyer who has defended some of China’s top dissidents, received a three-year suspended sentence over seven online posts deemed critical of the ruling Communist Party.
It was unclear the extent of the restrictions that would be placed on Pu, though it is likely that he will be placed under police surveillance and prevented from speaking to reporters. He later become one of the best-known lawyers in China for defending human rights in courts as well as in the media.
“The Communist Party saves faces, so does lawyer Pu”.
Comments censored include “the suspended sentence doesn’t mean that the rule of law is prevailed” by another rights lawyer, Ge Yongxi.
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The statement also said that at least 12 activists supporting Pu had been detained outside the court during Tuesday’s trial, reminding that supporters, foreign journalists and diplomats had been “manhandled” by police and unidentified persons during Pu’s December 14 trial.
