Tycoon Sun Dawu’s lawyers say early testimony gathered by police invalid
- Legal team say outspoken billionaire and co-defendants held illegally for months amid ‘torture’
- Closed-door court rejects view that some evidence obtained during ‘cruel, inhuman treatment’
Sun, 67, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges including provoking trouble and obstructing official duties. He could spend up to 25 years in jail if convicted, according to his lawyers, and is said to have done a hunger strike in protest against his treatment.
Confessions were extorted by “torture”, they said, with defendants subjected to “cruel and inhuman treatment” resulting in forced and false confessions.
The lawyers’ request for the court to rule the testimony invalid was rejected.
They said the seven have been illegally detained by the police for months. They have had no contact with the outside world and have been handcuffed for hours and kept in windowless cells while being subject to lengthy interrogations, the legal team said.
The trial – including Sun’s two brothers and two sons as well as six of his female senior managers – is being closely watched and is expected to continue for about a month.
Agricultural boss Sun is a prominent figure among Chinese private entrepreneurs and employs thousands of people.
Chinese entrepreneur Sun Dawu’s agricultural firm grinds to a halt
He and the 13 other men and six women on trial, the youngest among them aged 40, have all been locked up, likely in the city of Baoding in Hebei, since they were first arrested in November. Bail has been refused several times.
Sun’s wife and two daughters-in-law have also been detained by police since November but are not on trial.
Sun has been a vocal critic of China’s government, including its rural policies and handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019 he also accused leaders of covering up the damage done by the spread of African swine fever.
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Communist Party investigating Ren Zhiqiang, outspoken critic of China’s coronavirus response
Sun and his co-defendants were initially detained last year over a land dispute between his firm and a state farm in Hebei province.
Prosecutors later charged them with various counts, including illegal mining and the taking of unlawful deposits.
According to a summary provided by defence lawyers, who have been warned by the authorities not to speak to reporters, the defendants rejected the prosecutors’ accusations in court on Thursday.
“I went on a hunger strike to demand transfer to a normal detention centre but was rejected,” the lawyers quoted Sun as complaining to judges during a pre-trial meeting in May. “I would rather die than to be in this environment. I was not allowed to know the time of the day. I have lost track of time,” Sun reportedly said then.
“I have not seen the sun for three months now. No window [in my cell]. I have reached the limit under such psychological torture.”
Sun Dawu vs the state: a cautionary tale for China’s private sector?
Sheng Hong, former executive director of the prominent Unirule Institute of Economics, a Beijing-based think tank, feared Sun was being persecuted for his outspokenness.
“It is clear that local authorities are using judicial means to retaliate against him, and this is not going to be a fair trial,” Sheng said.
He was also worried that Sun’s case signalled that private entrepreneurs may face a tough business environment in the future.
“Sun Dawu may not be flawless but he certainly has made his contributions to society,” Sheng said. “If he is found guilty, I am worried that this does not bode well for social justice and the rule of law in China.”
The trial is expected to continue, behind closed doors, over the weekend.
