Chinese activist ‘Super Vulgar Butcher’ faces subversion trial
Charge linked to his protest over forced confessions in murder and rape case, says lawyer
Wu Gan, a Chinese dissident blogger known as “Super Vulgar Butcher”, will stand trial for subversion of state power after taking part in a protest over forced confessions in 2015, according to his lawyer.
After more than a year in detention, Wu would face trial in Tianjin, his lawyer Ge Yongxi said in an online statement on Tuesday.
“Around 1.30pm as I arrived at Tianjin’s No 2 detention centre, I was told that the case has been accepted by the court and I was not able to meet [Wu] until my identity as a defence lawyer was confirmed by the court,” Ge said.
Ge said he had filed a suit against the detention centre for denying him access to his client, saying he had previously submitted all the required documents to the Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People’s Court.
Wu was initially detained for 10 days after he and four lawyers protested in Nanchang in Jiangxi province in May 2015 over a rape and murder case. They claimed four innocent people were tortured into making confessions.