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| Chinese Rights Lawyer’s Trial Over Online Comments to Begin Soon | Chinese Rights Lawyer’s Trial Over Online Comments to Begin Soon |
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| BEIJING — One of China’s feistiest and most prominent civil rights lawyers, Pu Zhiqiang, will stand trial on Monday over charges related to his combative online comments, his lawyers said on Thursday, after months of uncertainty about when the contentious case would be heard in court. | |
| Mr. Pu was arrested in May 2014 and indicted a year later on suspicion of two crimes: inciting ethnic hatred and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a vague charge that the government has increasingly used against political dissenters. | Mr. Pu was arrested in May 2014 and indicted a year later on suspicion of two crimes: inciting ethnic hatred and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a vague charge that the government has increasingly used against political dissenters. |
| Until now, though, the judiciary in Beijing had delayed setting a trial date. | Until now, though, the judiciary in Beijing had delayed setting a trial date. |
| “The charges remain the same as they were in the indictment,” said Mo Shaoping, one of Mr. Pu’s two defense lawyers. “As for what will be said in court, that will have to wait for the hearing.” | “The charges remain the same as they were in the indictment,” said Mo Shaoping, one of Mr. Pu’s two defense lawyers. “As for what will be said in court, that will have to wait for the hearing.” |
| Mr. Pu’s other defense lawyer, Shang Baojun, confirmed the trial date at the Second Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing but declined to say more. | Mr. Pu’s other defense lawyer, Shang Baojun, confirmed the trial date at the Second Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing but declined to say more. |
| There is virtually no doubt that the court will find Mr. Pu guilty. Chinese courts come under Communist Party control and almost invariably convict defendants, especially in politically sensitive cases. | There is virtually no doubt that the court will find Mr. Pu guilty. Chinese courts come under Communist Party control and almost invariably convict defendants, especially in politically sensitive cases. |
| But Zhang Xuezhong, a human rights lawyer in Shanghai, said Mr. Pu might be spared the heaviest sentence that the charges would allow. | But Zhang Xuezhong, a human rights lawyer in Shanghai, said Mr. Pu might be spared the heaviest sentence that the charges would allow. |
| “The trial has been delayed and delayed for so long that they may want to deal with this swiftly now, so there’s a verdict around Christmastime, when fewer Western media and diplomats are around,” Mr. Zhang, who is a friend of Mr. Pu, said in a telephone interview. | “The trial has been delayed and delayed for so long that they may want to deal with this swiftly now, so there’s a verdict around Christmastime, when fewer Western media and diplomats are around,” Mr. Zhang, who is a friend of Mr. Pu, said in a telephone interview. |
| “The maximum sentence for the two charges together would usually be about eight years,” Mr. Zhang said. “But Pu Zhiqiang is influential in the Beijing legal world, he has many friends, and that might help him. I’m not a fortune teller, but there is the possibility of a lighter verdict.” | “The maximum sentence for the two charges together would usually be about eight years,” Mr. Zhang said. “But Pu Zhiqiang is influential in the Beijing legal world, he has many friends, and that might help him. I’m not a fortune teller, but there is the possibility of a lighter verdict.” |
| As a lawyer, Mr. Pu defended clients like the artist-provocateur Ai Weiwei and railed against the vagaries of China’s legal system, such as imprecise charges, detention with no real means of challenging it, and suspects’ lack of access to lawyers. | As a lawyer, Mr. Pu defended clients like the artist-provocateur Ai Weiwei and railed against the vagaries of China’s legal system, such as imprecise charges, detention with no real means of challenging it, and suspects’ lack of access to lawyers. |
| His own case has been rife with those problems, his wife, Meng Qun, and supporters have said. The charges stem from seven comments that Mr. Pu posted, sometimes more than once, on a Chinese microblog service, his lawyers said. | His own case has been rife with those problems, his wife, Meng Qun, and supporters have said. The charges stem from seven comments that Mr. Pu posted, sometimes more than once, on a Chinese microblog service, his lawyers said. |
| “He’s said he’s willing to apologize if anyone concerned feels his language was crude and hurtful,” Mr. Mo said in an interview after a pretrial meeting with Mr. Pu this week. | “He’s said he’s willing to apologize if anyone concerned feels his language was crude and hurtful,” Mr. Mo said in an interview after a pretrial meeting with Mr. Pu this week. |
| Mr. Pu, a former student participant in the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in China, was detained last year after attending a private gathering to discuss the protests and armed crackdown that ended them. | Mr. Pu, a former student participant in the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in China, was detained last year after attending a private gathering to discuss the protests and armed crackdown that ended them. |
| In his online comments, Mr. Pu criticized the Chinese government’s policies toward the Uighur people of Xinjiang, a region of western China troubled by growing ethnic strife. Those criticisms appeared to be the basis for charging him with inciting ethnic hatred. | In his online comments, Mr. Pu criticized the Chinese government’s policies toward the Uighur people of Xinjiang, a region of western China troubled by growing ethnic strife. Those criticisms appeared to be the basis for charging him with inciting ethnic hatred. |
| “If you say Xinjiang belongs to China, then don’t treat it as a colony,” Mr. Pu wrote in May 2014, according to the prosecutors. | “If you say Xinjiang belongs to China, then don’t treat it as a colony,” Mr. Pu wrote in May 2014, according to the prosecutors. |
| “Frankly, when patriot-scoundrels treat me as a traitor, that’s no slur,” prosecutors said he wrote in another comment. “I didn’t choose Communist Party rule, it never sought my approval.” | “Frankly, when patriot-scoundrels treat me as a traitor, that’s no slur,” prosecutors said he wrote in another comment. “I didn’t choose Communist Party rule, it never sought my approval.” |
| Mr. Pu has previously rejected the idea that his views amount to a crime, his lawyers have said. | Mr. Pu has previously rejected the idea that his views amount to a crime, his lawyers have said. |
| Before he became a detainee, Mr. Pu established his reputation as a burly, baritone advocate, willing to take up causes that irked the Communist Party authorities. | Before he became a detainee, Mr. Pu established his reputation as a burly, baritone advocate, willing to take up causes that irked the Communist Party authorities. |
| His clients included Mr. Ai, who was detained and later fined in a tax evasion case, as well as journalists, writers, a former labor camp prisoner who sued her captors, and the widow of a Communist Party cadre who was tortured to death by investigators. | His clients included Mr. Ai, who was detained and later fined in a tax evasion case, as well as journalists, writers, a former labor camp prisoner who sued her captors, and the widow of a Communist Party cadre who was tortured to death by investigators. |
| Under President Xi Jinping, the party has intensified its restrictions on potential political opponents and civil groups seen as possible threats to one-party dominance. Human rights lawyers have also come under deepening pressure, especially since a burst of arrests and detentions in July. | Under President Xi Jinping, the party has intensified its restrictions on potential political opponents and civil groups seen as possible threats to one-party dominance. Human rights lawyers have also come under deepening pressure, especially since a burst of arrests and detentions in July. |