Ordie
12-23-2009, 11:39 PM
December 23, 2009
Leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo sentenced on Christmas Day
(David Gray/*******)
Plainclothes police pull down a protest banner outside the Beijing court where Liu Xiaobo is on trial
Times Online
A verdict in the trial of China's most prominent dissident will be handed down on Friday, after a hearing that lasted just two hours.
Liu Xiaobo pleaded not guilty to charges of subversion at the Beijing Number One People’s Intermediate Court this morning. His lawyer Shang Baojun told The Times he was unable to say anything more until after sentencing.
Mr Liu's wife, Liu Xia, and foreign diplomats were banned from proceedings although his brother-in-law Liu Hui was allowed in to court.
Liu Hui said the prosecution did not say what sort of jail term they wanted if Liu Xiaobo is found guilty on Friday.
It was the first time that Liu Xiaobo, 53, has faced the full force of the legal system during two decades of activism distinguished by his bold calls for democracy and greater freedom of speech.
Mrs Liu, an artist, voiced despair about the likely outcome. She said: “I have no hope whatsoever. I can’t even attend the trial.”
Mr Liu faces a maximum term of 15 years on the charge of “inciting subversion of state power”. The evidence against him involves articles posted on the internet since 2005 and his co-authorship of “Charter 08” — a widely circulated petition calling for political reform. Charter 08 calls for the abolition of “subversion” in China’s criminal code — the very crime with which Mr Liu has been charged. The charge is routinely brought against those who voice opposition to the ruling Communist Party.
The authorities have had plenty of time to consider the case and to decide the length of Mr Liu’s term since he was detained without charge on December 8 last year, within hours of publishing Charter 08.
In a sign of the sensitivity of the trial, the authorities have visited or called many of the 300 original signatories to the document to warn them not to voice online support for Mr Liu or try to attend his trial.
The US and European Union have urged China to free Mr Liu and end the harassment and detention of political dissidents. Their diplomats have asked to watch the trial. Beijing said that their calls were “unacceptable”.
Nick Snyder, a spokesman for the US Embassy in Beijing, said: “A US Embassy official has applied and plans to attend and observe the trial.”
Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have voiced their concern over the case.
Source:The Guardian UK
Leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo sentenced on Christmas Day
(David Gray/*******)
Plainclothes police pull down a protest banner outside the Beijing court where Liu Xiaobo is on trial
Times Online
A verdict in the trial of China's most prominent dissident will be handed down on Friday, after a hearing that lasted just two hours.
Liu Xiaobo pleaded not guilty to charges of subversion at the Beijing Number One People’s Intermediate Court this morning. His lawyer Shang Baojun told The Times he was unable to say anything more until after sentencing.
Mr Liu's wife, Liu Xia, and foreign diplomats were banned from proceedings although his brother-in-law Liu Hui was allowed in to court.
Liu Hui said the prosecution did not say what sort of jail term they wanted if Liu Xiaobo is found guilty on Friday.
It was the first time that Liu Xiaobo, 53, has faced the full force of the legal system during two decades of activism distinguished by his bold calls for democracy and greater freedom of speech.
Mrs Liu, an artist, voiced despair about the likely outcome. She said: “I have no hope whatsoever. I can’t even attend the trial.”
Mr Liu faces a maximum term of 15 years on the charge of “inciting subversion of state power”. The evidence against him involves articles posted on the internet since 2005 and his co-authorship of “Charter 08” — a widely circulated petition calling for political reform. Charter 08 calls for the abolition of “subversion” in China’s criminal code — the very crime with which Mr Liu has been charged. The charge is routinely brought against those who voice opposition to the ruling Communist Party.
The authorities have had plenty of time to consider the case and to decide the length of Mr Liu’s term since he was detained without charge on December 8 last year, within hours of publishing Charter 08.
In a sign of the sensitivity of the trial, the authorities have visited or called many of the 300 original signatories to the document to warn them not to voice online support for Mr Liu or try to attend his trial.
The US and European Union have urged China to free Mr Liu and end the harassment and detention of political dissidents. Their diplomats have asked to watch the trial. Beijing said that their calls were “unacceptable”.
Nick Snyder, a spokesman for the US Embassy in Beijing, said: “A US Embassy official has applied and plans to attend and observe the trial.”
Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have voiced their concern over the case.
Source:The Guardian UK