China roughs up supporters, press at free-speech trial

Outside the Beijing courthouse where one of the biggest free speech cases in years was being argued earlier today, police and plainclothes thugs aggressively shoved and blocked foreign diplomats, journalists, supporters, and even family members from entering.

Prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, who is known for representing dissident artist Ai Weiwei in free speech cases and helping dismantle China’s labor camps, stood trial Monday on charges of provoking trouble and stirring ethnic hatred because of seven online posts criticizing the Communist Party on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform. Police arrested Pu in May 2014 after he attended an informal gathering commemorating the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Rights activists said he could now face up to eight years in prison.

During the three-hour trial, Pu’s wife was the only family member allowed in the courtroom. According to Mo Shaoping, Pu’s lawyer, Pu acknowledged he wrote the posts and would apologize to anyone who was offended, but said the act was not a crime. The verdict and sentence will be delivered at a later date.

Outside, a few dozen supporters held signs and chanted “Pu Zhiqiang is not guilty! Pu Zhiqiang is not guilty! Freedom of speech! Freedom of speech!” according to the The Guardian. Two dozen journalists as well as diplomats from countries such as the United States, Australia, Britain, and Canada were barred from entering the courtroom.

Plainclothes security officers wearing smiley-face stickers started aggressively pushing the crowd away from the building, throwing one reporter to the ground. Katie Stallard, a reporter from the U.K.’s Sky News said she was smacked in the mouth by a plainclothes cop and tweeted they were “physically trying to silence the press.” Online, censors wiped out any mention of Pu’s trial.

When senior U.S. diplomat Dan Biers tried to give a statement calling for Pu’s release, public security officers repeatedly shoved reporters into him. “Lawyers and civil society leaders such as Mr. Pu should not be subject to continued repression but should be allowed to contribute to the building of a prosperous and stable society,” Biers later read from a statement.

“They were quite rough, which is not typical,” Patrick Poon, China researcher for Amnesty International, told The Wall Street Journal. “It also shows the government’s bad attitude toward the diplomatic community.”

In the Weibo posts, Pu questioned China’s policies toward the Tibetan and Uighur ethnic minorities and mocked political figures such as the grandson of Mao Zedong. Pu’s supporters said the comments, which were quickly censored, were not unusual on the internet, but the government had been targeting Pu for openly advocating for free speech.

Amnesty International pointed out “repeated procedural irregularities” in his trial such as a prolonged pre-trial detention, denial of adequate medical care, and prosecutors’ refusing to disclose evidence against him to his defense lawyers.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) had earlier called on 36 ambassadors to attend the trial to demonstrate their opposition, but none showed up. In an interview with the The Wall Street Journal, HRW’s Asia Director Sophie Richardson said, “While it was an important gesture of support to send diplomats, that they were not ambassadors means the courts, the police, and their thugs will probably pay a fairly low price for their Sopranos-esque conduct inside and outside the court.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.