After 19 months of detention, the trial of rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang on Monday lasted three hours. Despite a repeatedly extended investigation, the evidence against him had dwindled to only seven online comments in which prosecutors claim he incited ethnic hatred and “picked quarrels.” From Aritz Parra at The Associated Press:
Chinese protesters and foreign rights groups said Pu’s trial at the No. 2 Beijing Intermediate Court amounted to political persecution, and foreign governments including the U.S. called for his release. The trial concluded about midday, and Pu’s lawyer Shang Baojun said a verdict and sentence would be delivered at a later date.
[…] Pu was active in defending free speech and represented dissident artist Ai Weiwei in a tax evasion case that Ai’s supporters said was politically motivated. He also was instrumental in pushing for the eventual abolishment of the labour camp system, which allowed police to lock up people for up to four years without a trial.
About 50 protesters had gathered at the courthouse along with a couple dozen journalists and about a dozen Western diplomats, but all of them were denied entrance. Police and plainclothes security officers wearing yellow smiley-face stickers pushed journalists and protesters away from the court entrance area. They threw one of the protesters the ground and took away several others.
[…] Pu’s other lawyer Mo Shaoping said prosecutors had not demonstrated that any of Pu’s postings had provoked troubles or incited ethnic tensions.
“This is really a case of freedom of expression, in which no harm to anyone has been proven,” Mo said in an interview after the trial. [Source]
Pu’s case has become a symbol of the broader crackdown on civil society under Xi Jinping. Critics say the justice system has been used as a political weapon, confirming the Party’s vision of law as a knife, and not a shield. Before the trial, Human Rights Watch’s Sophie Richardson described Pu’s looming sentence as a “canary in the coalmine” for the future of this trend, and commented that “a guilty verdict will be an indictment of the Chinese government, its law, and its legal system – not of Pu.”
In a statement, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China condemned police obstruction outside the courthouse:
Uniformed security officers as well as men who appeared to be plainclothes officers yelled at, shoved and otherwise sought to obstruct journalists in their normal course of work outside the Beijing courthouse.
FCCC members report at least one foreign journalist was slammed to the ground by a security officer. Others were pushed, shoved and punched in the back as they were hustled away from the site. Security officials physically manhandled several TV journalists. Diplomats were subjected to similar violence and journalists attempting to interview diplomats on site were also blocked.
Some members also report that police attempted to thwart coverage by demanding impromptu meetings at the same time as the trial was getting underway.
This effort to deter news coverage is a gross violation of Chinese government rules governing foreign correspondents, which expressly permit them to interview anybody who consents to be interviewed. [Source]
Journalists’ tweets from the scene showed the aggressive police actions:
Plain-clothes policeman photographing us and car arriving at pu zhiqiang trial.
— Katie Stallard-Blanchette (@katiestallard) December 14, 2015
Outside court for start of Pu Zhiqiang trial. Huge numbers of police. Did someone graffiti front wall last night? pic.twitter.com/6BRuXQhLNk
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Being expelled from front of courthouse by very very nervous police with @bbc team. #Puzhiqiang
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Under cover agents filming journos and #Puzhiqiang family outside court pic.twitter.com/BcSAlq2GWo
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Pu Zhiqiang's wife – who has not seen her husband in 19 months – arrives at court pic.twitter.com/NuWdJ8dmn4
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Diplomats now being harassed by police outside courthouse – not allowed in to court – this is going to get unpleasant
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
European diplomats trying to get access to trial of pu zhiqiang. Police moving journalists back from court pic.twitter.com/sKBYco16bi
— Katie Stallard-Blanchette (@katiestallard) December 14, 2015
Journalists being repeatedly subjected to passport, press card, ID checks by police. V aggressive
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Pu's friends and supporters entering court. Foreign diplomats prevented from doing so by police pic.twitter.com/IvZ07A1Eot
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Met 1 friend of Pu Zhiqiang who has known him since 1989 Tiananmen protests outside court. 'We must change. No more communist dictatorship'
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Violent scenes as police push back journos #Puzhiqiang pic.twitter.com/H2h3QFkLwT
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Got smack in the mouth from plain clothed cop outside court. Physically trying to silence the press outside pu zhiqiang trial. #Puzhiqiang
— Katie Stallard-Blanchette (@katiestallard) December 14, 2015
Police trying to force BBC's @TheJohnSudworth off air outside Pu Zhiqiang trial pic.twitter.com/jOg5uf5tCz
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Now: Dan Biers, U.S. diplomat, delivers a statement outside Pu Zhiqiang trial, is roughly shoved by police. pic.twitter.com/cw6xIVcPFn
— Emily Rauhala (@emilyrauhala) December 14, 2015
Security agents expelling journos & protestors from outside court all wearing smiley yellow face stickers pic.twitter.com/RsKfCqS4UG
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Plain clothes police clear all reporters and diplomats from court entrance at #PuZhiqiang trial pic.twitter.com/DZ0o9ZKr2B
— John Sudworth (@TheJohnSudworth) December 14, 2015
Supporters sit on pavement and chant: "Pu Zhiqiang is not guilty!" pic.twitter.com/o0YbcyvwNx
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
EU diplomat prevented from making statement outside court. Journos and diplos bundled away by cops pic.twitter.com/n6ygEAkB2N
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Protestor on why police are being so violent outside Pu Zhiqiang trial: "They fear us"
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Some of the bravest people in China have turned up to support Pu Zhiqiang. Quote: "Without rule of law, China has no hope and no future"
— Lucy Hornby (@HornbyLucy) December 14, 2015
Protestors outside Pu Zhiqiang trial being led away by police pic.twitter.com/SsDI29KA8K
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
A few catch up tweets on the Pu Zhiqiang trial. First up I'm okay, VPN playing up so couldn't tweet
— Philip Wen (@PhilipWen11) December 14, 2015
Diplomats from US, EU, Germany, NZ, Australia, UK among those at Pu Zhiqiang trial. None allowed in. Told court room "full"
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
Foreign journalists outside the courthouse were physically manhandled and aggressively shoved away by mix of police and plain clothes thugs
— Philip Wen (@PhilipWen11) December 14, 2015
One protestor says: without foreign journalists' presence, many people would be detained and beaten. pic.twitter.com/8SSRo1YuMP
— Yaqiu Wang 王亚秋 (@Yaqiu) December 14, 2015
One plain clothes man in a red bomber jacket put hand on my neck repeatedly, pushed me to the floor. pic.twitter.com/TZZvIkQ0Oj
— Philip Wen (@PhilipWen11) December 14, 2015
Plain clothes thugs wore yellow smiley face stickers to identify themselves to each other and uniformed police
— Philip Wen (@PhilipWen11) December 14, 2015
Plenty other journalists aggressively manhandled in similar fashion, including cameramen and photographers. pic.twitter.com/af6IflrUEm
— Philip Wen (@PhilipWen11) December 14, 2015
Probably a couple dozen Pu supporters chanted outside court "Pu Zhiqiang is innocent. Freedom of speech!" pic.twitter.com/CiYKWtiNXQ
— Philip Wen (@PhilipWen11) December 14, 2015
When similar scenes happened outside trial of activist Xu Zhiyong last year, it was labelled by some watchers as terrible PR
— Philip Wen (@PhilipWen11) December 14, 2015
Worse today. To me seems like Beijing wants to deliberately send a message that outside pressure won't affect how it tries its activists
— Philip Wen (@PhilipWen11) December 14, 2015
And Pu is facing up to 8 years jail for 7 weibo posts. More than one year for each.
— Philip Wen (@PhilipWen11) December 14, 2015
If Beijing doesn't want negative coverage, maybe it shouldn't send thugs to manhandle diplomats and journalists at Pu Zhiqiang's trial.
— Hannah Beech (@hkbeech) December 14, 2015
Assaulting journalists+diplomats outside Pu Zhiqiang's trial bad PR or a deliberate message to the World re #China's crackdown on lawyers?
— Stephen McDonell (@StephenMcDonell) December 14, 2015
@lburkitt I'm all good. Though the "laobaixing" enforcers outside the court wanted me to let everyone know Beijing no longer welcomes us.
— Josh Chin (@joshchin) December 14, 2015
Woman near Pu Zhiqiang trial says "China has no human rights" and "Chinese police are thugs." pic.twitter.com/DEYR5GUc4q
— Edward Wong (@ewong) December 14, 2015
Police are now trying to clear out a couple dozen protestors near the Pu Zhiqiang courthouse. pic.twitter.com/SURh5yBILS
— Edward Wong (@ewong) December 14, 2015
Media getting pushed around outside #PuZhiqiang trial in #Beijing – most aggression from authorities I've witnessed. pic.twitter.com/ah5RtJwA3s
— Lucy Watson (@lucywatsonitv) December 14, 2015
1. Met two recent graduates from Pu Zhiqiang's alma mater, Zhengfa, outside of the BJ courthouse this morning
— Jonathan Kaiman (@JRKaiman) December 14, 2015
2. They told me that 20% of their classmates support Pu, and some would even follow in his footsteps, despite obvious dangers
— Jonathan Kaiman (@JRKaiman) December 14, 2015
3. Reminder that ppl like Pu still have serious grassroots support, though b/c of censorship, intimidation, etc. it remains largely unheard
— Jonathan Kaiman (@JRKaiman) December 14, 2015
The man in the black jacket is a Beijing plainclothes cop enforcer. Has yellow smiley face on jacket and wears mask. pic.twitter.com/hViGib3ODd
— Edward Wong (@ewong) December 14, 2015
Incredibly aggressive police outside Pu Zhiqiang trial this morning. Many shoved to ground; at least 2 detained pic.twitter.com/HQAA8KYbG6
— Jonathan Kaiman (@JRKaiman) December 14, 2015
The moment Chinese police prevent senior US diplomat Dan Biers from giving statement outside Pu Zhiqiang trial pic.twitter.com/1qUioILXiK
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
#PuZhiqiang trial: Police took away several individuals who tried to attend the trial. https://t.co/PTlyRQcQrB
— CHRD人权捍卫者 (@CHRDnet) December 14, 2015
Sizeable protest still ongoing outside of #puzhiqiang trial (just received video from source) pic.twitter.com/dx82rimwht
— Jonathan Kaiman (@JRKaiman) December 14, 2015
Expect detentions as soon as the cameras leave
— Jonathan Kaiman (@JRKaiman) December 14, 2015
https://twitter.com/jgriffiths/status/676251479334895618
The moment police prevent EU diplomat from reading statement outside Pu Zhiqiang trial pic.twitter.com/uvScH3llJ4
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
It doesn’t seem like the security folks outside Pu Zhiqiang’s trial are wearing masks because of the air.
— Philip P. Pan (@panphil) December 14, 2015
@panphil @onglynette by far the most violent men were all wearing masks
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) December 14, 2015
