Chinese activist, church leader sentenced for subversion

The Chinese government sentenced democracy activist and church elder Hu Shigen to seven and a half years in prison on subversion charges Wednesday. Hu is the second of four rights activists to face trial this week in Tianjin. Officials detained them along with more than 250 other human rights lawyers, legal assistants, in a nationwide crackdown one year ago. About 20 remain in custody today.

According to state media, Hu pleaded guilty to “subversion, damaging national security, and harming social stability” and said he would not appeal. Prosecutors accused Hu of leading an “underground organization” that masqueraded as a church but actually drew attention to accusations of government abuses. They also claimed Hu worked with the other activists to “organize activities that manipulated public opinion and disturbed public order.”

A prominent house church leader, the 61-year-old Hu previously spent 16 years in prison for organizing the China Free Democratic Party following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and distributing fliers promoting democracy. After his release in 2008, he continued his human rights advocacy and led Beijing house churches such as Sheng Ai Fellowship and Yahebo Covenent Church. Beginning in 2013, police persistently harassed Yahebo Church, forcing the congregation to change meeting times and locations. Officials considered the church a problem because it attracted many petitioners, local citizens with grievances who sought redress from the central government, according to China Aid.

On Monday, Wang Yu, a human rights lawyer with the Fengrui law firm also arrested in the crackdown, appeared in a videotaped confession in which she expressed regret for taking on sensitive cases and denounced foreign groups that she worked with in the past.

“I won’t be used by these people again,” she said.

Wang claimed to be out on bail, although her lawyers could not contact her. Many believe she made the confession under duress.

The Tianjin court sentenced activist Zhai Yanmin to a three-year suspended prison term Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to subverting state power. According to state media, he confessed to organizing protests and plotting with foreign groups to launch a “color revolution.” Because of the suspended sentence, Zhai will be allowed to return home soon, but his wife, Lin Ermin, called the ruling “totally unacceptable” and promised to appeal.

“Even if he may be out of jail soon, what is the use of this?” Lin told Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post. “He cannot speak and what is the point to just being able to eat? How different is that from being dead?”

Zhou Shifeng, the head of Fengrui law firm, and activist Gou Hongguo also face trials this week. Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the trials a “miscarriage of justice,” as the Chinese government did not notify the defendants’ family members or lawyers about the proceeding and blocked most reporters from entering the courthouse. All the while, authorities claim the trials are open and public.

“These cases lay bare Chinese authorities’ shameless manipulation of the legal system to silence rule of law advocates and critics,” said Sophia Richardson, HRW’s China director, in a statement. “Authorities have lied about an open trial, and faked Wang Yu’s release. The only hard truth here is China’s appalling backsliding on rights.”