New | Chinese rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang’s criticism of Communist Party used to indict him
Sarcastic criticisms of Communist Party and top officials, posted online by human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, shed light on his detention
Incriminating commentaries posted online by detained human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang have emerged, showing that his often sarcastic criticisms of the Communist Party and its policies towards ethnic minorities and neighbouring countries crossed the authorities' limits of tolerance.
Pu, who was put in criminal detention in May after he joined an event marking the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown, has been charged with "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", inciting separatism and ethnic hatred, and illegally obtaining personal information. He faces a lengthy jail term.
About 30 microblog messages sent by Pu from 12 Weibo accounts between 2011 and 2014 were used to indict him, his lawyer Shang Baojun said.
But Shang said the messages were not criminal in nature.
"[They were] his opinions on people or events - these should be within the domain of free speech. These have nothing to do with crimes," Shang said. "It is over the top to bring several charges against Pu based on his comments."
Shang said Pu had denied all the charges, which together carry a maximum jail term of 20 years.
In his commentaries, Pu had been highly critical of the party. "From top to bottom, the Communist Party cannot survive without telling lies," he said in one post.