Pu Zhiqiang, one of China’s best-known human rights lawyers, goes on trial today on charges of “inciting ethnic hatred” and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.
The charges are mostly based on seven social media posts, in total about 600 characters, in which he criticised the government and satirised two cadres. At a pre-trial meeting last week, some of the evidence previously held against him was dismissed, his lawyers said. He still faces eight years in jail.
Mr Pu, who has represented many dissidents and activists, including the artist Ai Weiwei, and who took part in the pro-democracy protests in 1989 that ended with the bloody crackdown centred on Tiananmen Square, has already been detained for 19 months.
He was picked up in May 2014 after attending a seminar in Beijing that called for an investigation into the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
Among the cases he has defended are those linked to the “New Citizens’ Movement”, a loose network of activists who aim to promote government transparency and expose corruption.
"His [Pu's] odyssey through the political machinery masquerading as China's legal system is disturbingly typical of those who try to use peaceful means to challenge injustices by the state," said Human Rights Watch's China director, Sophie Richardson.
Ambassadors
Ms Richardson urged 36 Beijing-based ambassadors, including Ireland’s
Paul Kavanagh
, to turn up at 9am on Monday at the Beijing Municipal No 2 Intermediate courthouse to protest at Mr Pu’s treatment.
While she doubted they would be allowed in, she said “it would be an extraordinary gesture of solidarity and support for human rights to see these ambassadors at the courthouse”.
Last week, US ambassador to Beijing Max Baucus urged the government to end its crackdown on human rights lawyers and activists, saying they should be treated as partners rather than enemies of the people.
The Chinese government rejects western criticism of its human rights record, saying it is a country ruled by law and that it opposes foreign interference in its domestic affairs.
According to UN figures, 200 lawyers have been rounded up in a nationwide crackdown since July, and at least 25 of them remain in detention, including prominent lawyer-activists Wang Yu, Li Heping and Zhang Kai.
The United Nations Committee Against Torture has also called for a halt to the crackdown on lawyers and activists.
Amnesty International has described Mr Pu's treatment as an act of political persecution.
“The chances of Pu Zhiqiang receiving a fair trial are close to zero. He is being punished solely for standing up to the Chinese government in his courageous defence of human rights,” said Patrick Poon, China researcher with Amnesty.
“His trial is an act of political persecution in which the authorities are trying to silence an independent voice. His pre-trial detention has lasted for more than 18 months, with his treatment at the hands of the authorities marred by many irregularities. If there was any justice Pu Zhiqiang would be immediately and unconditionally released,” said Mr Poon.
