Chinese officers scuffle with protesters outside trial of human-rights lawyer

The charges against Pu relate to a number of posts on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo that questioned the party’s policies toward the Tibetan and Uighur (pronounced WEE-gur) ethnic minorities in the Tibet and Xinjiang regions, and mocked political figures.

Mo Shaoping, Pu’s lawyer, said in an interview after the trial that his client doesn’t deny writing the posts, but that the court had to prove intent or damage.

Police officers push away foreign journalists covering rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang’s trial at the Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court in Beijing, Monday, Dec. 14, 2015. Diplomats including Dan Biers, the deputy political counselor for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, were shoved as they attempted to read aloud statements on the proceedings.

Fifty-year-old Pu Zhiqiang has been called China’s “most influential champion” of free speech and the latest victim of a crackdown on freedom of speech in the country by President Xi Jinping.

Pu initially faced four charges, including inciting separatism and illegally obtaining personal information, according to his lawyers.

At the court premises, several of Pu’s supporters were involved in a scuffle with the police, which was stopping them from entering the court room.

Police repeatedly clashed with them, with officers and men in civilian dress – identified by “smiley face” stickers on their clothing – pushing them hundreds of metres away.

U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus called on the country to recognize Pu Zhiqiang and Zhang Kai, as well as other human rights lawyers, Wang Yu and Li Heping, as “partners, not enemies of the government” on International Human Rights Day, observed last Thursday, December 10, as reported by Yahoo! The Sydney Morning Herald’s correspondent, Philip Wen, said he had been pushed to the ground.

Mr Pu faces up to eight years in jail if he is found guilty.

China’s most influential human rights lawyer went on trial himself here Monday, as police scuffled outside the courthouse with diplomats and journalists who were not allowed in.

“He criticized the authorities, defended human rights cases and had a media platform”.

A diplomat speaking on behalf of the European Union was also shouted down as she delivered a statement outside the court criticising the process. “He said that if these microblog posts had caused injury to other people, he apologizes for it. He had no intention to incite ethnic hatred or pick quarrels and provoke trouble”, his lawyer, Mo, said.

“Lawyers and civil society leaders such as Mr. Pu should not be subject to continuing repression but should be allowed to contribute to the building of prosperous and stable china”, he said, calling for his release.

Pu was detained in the spring of 2014 after attending a private gathering to mark the anniversary of Tiananmen Square, and has been in police custody ever since.

There was also a crowd of Chinese supporters of Mr Pu. The spokesman said that “law enforcement authorities carried out order management at the scene in accordance with the law”. A verdict is expected later on Monday.