This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/22/pu-zhiqiang-chinese-human-rights-lawyer-sentenced-to-three-years
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Pu Zhiqiang trial: Chinese human rights lawyer given three-year suspended sentence | Pu Zhiqiang trial: Chinese human rights lawyer given three-year suspended sentence |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Chinese free speech champion Pu Zhiqiang was preparing to spend his first night out of detention in more than 18 months on Tuesday after being unexpectedly released by a Communist party-controlled court. | |
| Pu, who is one of China’s best-known civil rights lawyers, was detained in May 2014 in what supporters described as a politically motivated attempt to silence his outspoken criticism of the government. | |
| He had been facing eight years behind bars for seven sarcastic posts on Chinese social media questioning government policy. | |
| Related: Scuffles outside Beijing court as human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang goes on trial | Related: Scuffles outside Beijing court as human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang goes on trial |
| However, on Tuesday morning a court in Beijing handed the 50-year-old lawyer a three-year suspended prison sentence for the alleged crimes of “inciting ethnic hatred” and “disturbing public order”. | |
| That decision – less harsh than some supporters had feared given the political chill that has descended on China since Xi Jinping became leader in 2012 – paved the way for Pu’s release into some form of house arrest. | |
| A black Volkswagen, believed to be carrying the lawyer and his wife, Meng Qun, left Beijing’s Number One detention centre at about 4.15pm local time, speeding off into the acrid smog past clusters of police officers and journalists. | |
| I believe Pu Zhiqiang has just left prison in this car pic.twitter.com/zkzfLkAiKS | |
| Pu was not visible through the vehicle’s blacked out windows. | |
| However, shortly after, Shang Baojun, one of Pu’s lawyers, said he had spoken to his client, who told him he had been taken from the detention centre and placed under surveillance in an undisclosed location that was not his home. | |
| “I am grateful for people’s concern and support,” Pu said, according to his lawyer. “Right now I need rest,” he added. | |
| In a separate message, Meng Qun, who had not been allowed to see her husband since his detention, said Pu was now being held under “residential surveillance”. | |
| “He needs to restore his health. Thanks for your concern,” she said. | |
| Xinhua, China’s official news agency, claimed the lawyer had been given “a light punishment … as he confessed his crime honestly, pleaded guilty and repented his guilt.” | |
| Pu’s “provocative” online messages had created an “antagonistic mentality in many and [had] a severe social impact,” Xinhua added, without elaborating on the nature of that impact. | |
| However, Mo Shaoping, Pu’s lawyer, insisted his client maintained his innocence even though he did not plan to appeal the sentence. | |
| News that Pu would be released was welcomed by some supporters. | |
| “Home!” wrote Jia Zhangke, the Chinese film director, on Weibo alongside a photograph of the lawyer. | “Home!” wrote Jia Zhangke, the Chinese film director, on Weibo alongside a photograph of the lawyer. |
| However, others condemned Beijing’s decision to hand down any punishment at all to the free speech icon. Under Tuesday’s ruling, Pu will be barred from practicing law. | |
| Murong Xuecun, a Chinese novelist and friend, said Pu should have been completely absolved as well as being awarded compensation for having to spend nearly 600 days in “illegal detention”. | Murong Xuecun, a Chinese novelist and friend, said Pu should have been completely absolved as well as being awarded compensation for having to spend nearly 600 days in “illegal detention”. |
| “Other than that, any verdict is an insult,” the author said. “I feel angry. I cannot accept this.” | “Other than that, any verdict is an insult,” the author said. “I feel angry. I cannot accept this.” |
| Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch’s China director, said Pu’s sentencing made a mockery of president Xi’s claims to be advancing the rule of law in China. | Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch’s China director, said Pu’s sentencing made a mockery of president Xi’s claims to be advancing the rule of law in China. |
| “The only acceptable sentence from the perspective of real rule of law is of course that Pu be freed immediately and utterly exonerated since he has broken no law,” she said. | “The only acceptable sentence from the perspective of real rule of law is of course that Pu be freed immediately and utterly exonerated since he has broken no law,” she said. |
| In a statement, Amnesty International attacked the court’s decision as “a gross injustice” and “a deliberate attempt by the Chinese authorities to shackle a champion of freedom of expression”. | In a statement, Amnesty International attacked the court’s decision as “a gross injustice” and “a deliberate attempt by the Chinese authorities to shackle a champion of freedom of expression”. |
| Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty’s director for East Asia, said the decision not to hand down the maximum sentence of eight years suggested a “political compromise” by the Communist party. | Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty’s director for East Asia, said the decision not to hand down the maximum sentence of eight years suggested a “political compromise” by the Communist party. |
| That compromise allowed China’s security forces to save face but simultaneously “keeps the screws on Pu,” who could face a return to jail if he refuses to step into line. | That compromise allowed China’s security forces to save face but simultaneously “keeps the screws on Pu,” who could face a return to jail if he refuses to step into line. |
| At the time of his detention Pu, who was a student leader at the time of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, was considered one of China’s foremost human rights lawyers; an outspoken and often irreverent attorney whose client list included the dissident artist Ai Weiwei. | At the time of his detention Pu, who was a student leader at the time of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, was considered one of China’s foremost human rights lawyers; an outspoken and often irreverent attorney whose client list included the dissident artist Ai Weiwei. |
| Pu commanded a large online following and was known for his withering criticism of the government on Weibo, where his accounts were frequently shut down by censors. | |
| Supporters believe the Communist party, which has been waging a severe crackdown on its opponents since Xi Jinping became leader in 2012, was determined to silence a man they saw as a potential political threat. | Supporters believe the Communist party, which has been waging a severe crackdown on its opponents since Xi Jinping became leader in 2012, was determined to silence a man they saw as a potential political threat. |
| “If he were an American politician he’d outshine a lot of the candidates we have here – both intellectually and in his personal delivery,” said Perry Link, an American academic who knows Pu. | “If he were an American politician he’d outshine a lot of the candidates we have here – both intellectually and in his personal delivery,” said Perry Link, an American academic who knows Pu. |
| Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s sentencing, William J Dobson, the author of The Dictator’s Learning Curve, said Pu’s trial highlighted the way in which authoritarian regimes used the law as “a cudgel of the state to keep the population in line”. | Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s sentencing, William J Dobson, the author of The Dictator’s Learning Curve, said Pu’s trial highlighted the way in which authoritarian regimes used the law as “a cudgel of the state to keep the population in line”. |
| “[Beijing is] increasingly showing a tougher and tougher line with dissent and with those who question the system. They are trying to make an example of those who do,” said Dobson, who has spent time in China with Pu. | “[Beijing is] increasingly showing a tougher and tougher line with dissent and with those who question the system. They are trying to make an example of those who do,” said Dobson, who has spent time in China with Pu. |
| “The question then becomes: is that a sign of strength or is that a sign of weakness? Does that instinct come from confidence or does it come from fear?” Dobson added. “I don’t know that we know the answer to that yet.” | “The question then becomes: is that a sign of strength or is that a sign of weakness? Does that instinct come from confidence or does it come from fear?” Dobson added. “I don’t know that we know the answer to that yet.” |
| Richardson, from Human Rights Watch, said the lighter-than-expected sentence did not signal that president Xi Jinping’s crackdown on dissent was easing. She pointed to the continued imprisonment of other high profile lawyers including Li Heping and Wang Yu. “I will believe it is over when every single one of those lawyers turns up unscathed,” Richardson said. | |
| Murong Xuecun said the government’s treatment of his friend gave the lie to Xi’s claims he was bringing the rule of law to China. | Murong Xuecun said the government’s treatment of his friend gave the lie to Xi’s claims he was bringing the rule of law to China. |
| “You can see this government doesn’t care the slightest about the so-called rule of law or about building a so-called country ruled by law,” the author said. “Pu’s case has made such slogans a laughing stock in China.” | “You can see this government doesn’t care the slightest about the so-called rule of law or about building a so-called country ruled by law,” the author said. “Pu’s case has made such slogans a laughing stock in China.” |
| Additional reporting by Christy Yao | Additional reporting by Christy Yao |