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China rights lawyer trial held behind closed doors
TIANJIN, China, Dec 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The trial of a prominent Chinese
human rights lawyer took place Wednesday but was closed to the public because
of “state secrets”, a northern Chinese court said.
Wang Quanzhang, 42, who defended political activists and victims of land
seizures, disappeared in a 2015 sweep — known as the “709” crackdown —
aimed at courtroom critics of Communist authorities.
Charged in January 2016 with alleged “subversion of state power”, Wang had
been in legal limbo — detained without a trial date — until Monday, when
his government-appointed lawyer finally contacted his wife with the court
date.
“The defendant… was tried in the first instance of the Tianjin Second
Intermediate People’s Court today,” the court said in a statement.
“Due to the state secrets involved, the court decided not to open the
trial to the public. The verdict in this case will be pronounced at a later
date.”
The closed-door proceedings were conducted in a heavily-guarded courthouse
in the northern city of Tianjin, with Wang’s wife prevented from attending
the session and at least two activists detained for protesting outside the
building.
Wang’s wife, Li Wenzu, was on Tuesday placed under de facto house arrest
with “more than 20” security personnel outside her apartment.
In an account posted on Twitter early Wednesday morning, a supporter Wang
Qiaoling detailed how she and Li were barred from leaving a Beijing housing
compound by groups of police officers for over an hour.
– ‘Another potential enemy’ –
“The authorities in cases like these see the defendant as their enemy and
anyone close to them as either a potential tool to be manipulated… or as
another potential enemy to be controlled,” Eva Pils, a professor specialising
in human rights law at King’s College London, told AFP.
“Placing Li Wenzu under house arrest would fall in that category.”
Just before 10:00 am (0200 GMT), AFP journalists witnessed Heilongjiang
activist Yang Chunlin getting arrested after he protested outside the court
in Tianjin, describing the situation as “fascist rule” and “absurd”.
Several plainclothes officers set on Yang and bundled him into a waiting
black SUV.
Witnesses told AFP that Zhang Zhecheng, a rights activist from central
China, had been taken away at about 8:15 am after holding up a sign calling
for Wang’s release.
Wang is charged with being influenced by “infiltrating anti-China forces”,
of being trained by a foreign group and accepting their funding, and of
having subversive thoughts as a result.
The documents seen by AFP say he worked with Peter Dahlin, a Swedish human
rights activist whose group offered training to lawyers who have tried to use
the tightly controlled Chinese judiciary to redress apparent government
abuses.
Dahlin was deported in 2016 after a 23-day detention.
Wang is also accused of hyping up and distorting facts in cases he worked
on, including a “cult” he was defending.
– ‘Stay quiet’ –
In Hong Kong, about 50 people marched to China’s liaison office on
Wednesday, demanding the release of Wang and others detained during the 709
crackdown.
The sweep has dealt a blow to China’s human rights defence movement, with
most lawyers either jailed, disbarred or under heavy surveillance, making it
impossible for them to work, said Human Rights Watch China researcher Yaqiu
Wang.
“The Chinese government, paranoiacally, sees grassroots Chinese activists
and organisations working with foreign non-government organisations as
attempts to foment a ‘colour revolution’ to challenge the Communist Party’s
grip on power,” she said.
Li and three others last week shaved their heads in protest of Wang’s
indefinite detention and tried to submit a petition to the courts but were
prevented from doing so by the police.
“Family members of detained activists are often warned to ‘stay quiet’ to
avoid their loved ones getting harsher sentences,” said Doriane Lau, China
researcher at Amnesty International.
“In the hope of getting the activist out earlier by succumbing to the
threats of the authorities, family members and friends avoid bringing the
case to journalists or calling for support on social media.”
BSS/AFP/RY/1635 hrs