Human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang handed three-year jail sentence

Chinese court Tuesday sentenced lawyer Pu Zhiqiang to a suspended prison term, allowing one of China’s most prominent rights advocates to avoid further incarceration despite his conviction for online speech that authorities deemed to be incendiary.

The court still convicted Mr. Pu of “picking quarrels” and “inciting ethnic hatred” based on seven social-media posts that criticized government officials and state policy toward China’s Uighur Muslim minority.

“The disgraceful police operation outside Pu Zhiqiang’s trial only underscores why China needs defenders of free speech like Pu more than ever”, Nee said.

“Clearly it is positive that Pu Zhiqiang is unlikely to spend another night in jail, yet that can not hide the gross injustice against him”. Correspondents say that the sentencing could mean that Pu is monitored during the suspension period, with the possibility of a reduced sentence if he demonstrates good behaviour. “Under the suspended sentence, he finally can get out”, said supporter Ren Jianyu.

He has represented a diverse array of clients, including dissident artist Ai Weiwei and victims of a draconian (and now abolished) “re-education through labor” system.

It remains uncertain if he’d be freed from detention.

He had been facing up to eight years of jail time.

Drifting into law in the early 1990s after participating in the 1989 pro-democracy Tiananmen Square movement, Pu soon understood he could make a difference to people’s lives by defending them.

He had already spent almost 19 months in detention before his trial last week, which lasted just over three hours.

Amnesty International said the suspended prison sentence was “a deliberate attempt by the Chinese authorities to shackle a champion of freedom of expression”.

“Pu is not guilty”, Ai said by telephone.

Xinhua said Pu admitted to the crimes and repented in court, but his lawyers said Pu only apologized for being impolite but insisted that he broke no law. Those texts questioned the “excessively violent” fight against the Uighurs in the Xinjiang region, and even insinuated the Chinese Communist Party was untruthful.

The court, after hearing out the defence and opinions from the prosecutor, determined Pu provoked ethnic discord and incited ethnic hatred through a multiple entries he posted on his social media accounts on Weibo.Com from January 2012 to May past year.

“He also said if there’s an opportunity, history will deliver a true judgment”.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the posts involving ethnic issues, which collectively were reposted 2,500 times and received more than 1,300 comments, resulted in sharply antagonistic sentiments. He never pleaded guilty, nevertheless.

Police and plainclothes security officers prevented foreign reporters, Pu’s supporters and diplomats from the United States, the European Union and Switzerland from approaching the court.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei (洪磊) rebuffed the concern, saying foreign governments had to respect China’s judicial sovereignty and not interfere.