Chinese police block envoys at lawyer’s trial
DIPLOMATS, journalists and protesters were manhandled by Chinese police outside a Beijing court where a prominent human rights lawyer was going on trial yesterday.
Pu Zhiqiang, who has defended the artist Ai Weiwei, was accused of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” as well as inciting ethnic hatred. Human rights groups say the case is political persecution.
About a dozen diplomats from countries including Britain, the United States, Germany and Australia arrived at the court but were barred by police from observing the trial.
Dan Biers, an official from the US embassy, tried to read a statement condemning the “vague” charges and calling for Mr Pu’s release but was interrupted by police. Videos uploaded online showed uniformed and plain-clothes officers pushing him and foreign reporters while shouting “Leave!” in Chinese.
A European Union diplomat was also prevented from making a statement.
Chinese police attempted to block filming by foreign journalists and pushed television correspondents, including the BBC’s, away from the cameras. The Sydney
Morning Herald’s correspondent, Philip Wen, said he had been pushed to the ground. There was also a crowd of Chinese supporters of Mr Pu. Several of them were detained. The internet was heavily censored and reporters said they believed it had been slowed to prevent videos of the scene being uploaded.
A search for Mr Pu’s Chinese name on the popular social media platform Weibo said results were blocked because of “relevant laws, regulations and policies”. State media provided the only public acknowledgement of the case. They said it would not be decided by “pressure from the West”.
Mr Pu’s lawyers say the case centred on messages he posted on a social media platform. One accused the Communist Party of “secrecy, cheating, passing the buck, delay” and another criticised its policies towards the troubled Muslim, Uighur-minority province of Xinjiang.
Mr Pu’s lawyer quoted him as saying in court that he was prepared to apologise to anyone offended. “I am a man of the law,” he said. “I have faith in the law, so I believe and hope that the court can give me a verdict that can stand the test of history.” He faces up to eight years in jail if found guilty. No verdict was given yesterday.
Meanwhile, one of China’s richest men, Guo Guangchang, who was detained last week amid rumours he was being questioned over links to party officials, reemerged. The chairman of the Fosun Group was shown at the company’s annual general meeting.