Breaking | Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang indicted for ‘inciting ethnic hatred’; faces up to 8 years' jail

Beijing prosecution authorities on Friday indicted veteran human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang on the charges of “inciting ethnic hatred” and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, having dropped two other charges.

But his lawyer says he still faces up to eight years in jail.

A posting on the official microblog of the Beijing People Procuratorate’s second branch said Pu’s crime was “serious” because he repeatedly posted messages on his microblog account to “incite ethnic hatred” and “openly insult others”. His acts “damaged social order” and he “should be held criminally responsible”, it added.

Pu, who has been detained for a year, was previously also charged with “inciting separatism” and “illegally obtaining personal information”. He was put in criminal detention in May last year after he joined an event marking the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.

On Friday, his lawyer Shang Baojun said he was pleased that those charges had been dismissed, but said “he shouldn’t be indicted with a single charge”.

But he noted that Pu still faces a maximum jail sentence of eight years with the current two charges.