Outspoken human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng reportedly pleaded guilty to subversion charges in a Beijing court yesterday, said two lawyers hired by his family.
'The Gao Zhisheng case went to public trial this morning at the Beijing No1 Intermediate Court,' lawyers Mo Shaoping and Ding Xikui said in a statement, adding that Gao had admitted to the offence of 'inciting subversion of state power' during the trial.
The lawyers, who were unable to attend the trial, did not reveal the source of the information. They also refused to comment on the credibility of Gao's reported confession.
'Because we didn't get a chance to meet with Gao Zhisheng ... to get first-hand information on his view of the subversion charges ... nor did we see the accusation files or the evidence on which the charges were built, we're not in any position to comment further.'
The lawyers could not be contacted for comment last night. But they said in the statement that the fact that the court had appointed two other lawyers to defend Gao contradicted earlier claims Gao had refused legal representation.
There has been no domestic media coverage of the trial.
