Rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang faces more charges as police hand case to prosecutors

Beijing police had handed over the case of human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang to prosecutors after pressing a total of four charges against him, his lawyer said yesterday, confirming fears that he may face a lengthy jail sentence.

Pu was placed in criminal detention in early May, three days after attending a private meeting commemorating the 25th anniversary of the crackdown on the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement. He was one of five scholars and activists detained by police after the event, although the others were released on bail.

In June, Pu was charged with "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and "illegally obtaining personal information".

But police recently pressed two more charges before sending Pu's case to prosecutors, his lawyer Mo Shaoping said.

The new charges were likely to be "inciting to subvert state power" and "inciting racial hatred", although Mo could not give exact details as he had just taken over Pu's case and did not have access to case documents.

The charge of illegal access to personal information related to Pu's commercial cases, while the other charges related to his online commentaries, Mo said.