– ‘Bear witness’ –
Pu, 50, is the latest person to be tried in a crackdown on critics of the Communist Party overseen by President Xi Jinping, which has seen hundreds detained and dozens sent to prison.
He is virtually certain to be convicted in the Communist-controlled court.
A former client of his, Xie Sunming, told AFP: “Sure, they won’t let us into the courtroom, but that’s not what’s important. I’m here to support Pu Zhiqiang, a good man who helped me immensely.”
Xie was sentenced to a year in a labour camp in 2009 for posting a single 20-character sentence on an online forum accusing a local government official of corrupt business ties.
He spent a year in a mountain detention centre working over nine hours a day to make electronic computer parts, pocketing just eight yuan (now $1.24) a month.
He drove 20 hours from Chongqing in southwestern China to stand outside the Beijing courthouse, saying he and a friend “had to sneak out and drive all night”, unable to travel by air or train for fear of being detained.
Yao Lianshe, a citizen who attends as many trials as he can despite frequent police harassment, told AFP: “China has too few good lawyers – he was one of the few.”
“Nothing in China will ever change for the better unless the people are unafraid to stand up to authority and bear witness.”
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