A Chinese court yesterday sentenced a veteran democracy activist to nine years’ imprisonment for inciting subversion, in what appears to be the most severe punishment handed down in a crackdown on dissent this year.
Chen Wei (陳衛) was convicted of incitement to subversion over four essays he wrote and published online, one of his lawyers said. He was detained in February amid an extensive government crackdown in response to anonymous online calls urging Chinese to imitate protests in North Africa and the Middle East.
Attorney Liang Xiaojun (梁小軍) said the trial at a court in the city of Suining in southwestern China lasted about two-and-a-half hours and the sentence was handed down 30 minutes after the trial concluded.
“We pleaded not guilty. He only wrote a few essays. We presented a full defense of the case, but we were interrupted often and none of what we said was accepted by the court,” Liang said.
Liang said that after the sentence was handed down, Chen said: “I protest, I am innocent. The governance of democracy must win, autocracy must die.”
Chen’s wife, Wang Xiaoyan (王曉燕), denounced the punishment.
“He is innocent and the punishment was too harsh. The court did not allow him to defend himself and he was completely deprived of his right to free speech,” Wang said by telephone from Suining. “What’s wrong with a person freely expressing his ideas?”
Chen, 42, previously served time for participating in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing, where he was attending college. In 1994, Chen was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for “counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement,” according to the court indictment for his subversion charge.
Yesterday’s sentence handed down to Chen appears to be the heaviest penalty meted out in relation to this year’s crackdown, said Wang Songlian (汪松鐮), a researcher with the Hong Kong-based advocacy group, Chinese Human Rights Defenders.
“This severe punishment against an activist, caught up in the Jasmine crackdown, shows how the Chinese government’s nerves are still jittery,” she said.
“All its latest moves, its attempts to control its microblogs, its crackdown on activists, show it is increasing tightening on freedom of expression and other civil liberties,” she added.
Others rounded up in this year’s crackdown who have been punished include Beijing activist Wang Lihong (王荔蕻), who was sentenced to nine months in jail in September for staging a protest on behalf of other activists, and Yang Qiuyu (楊秋雨), a Beijing activist who was sentenced to two years of re-education through labor.
FLYBY: The object, appears to be traveling more than 60 kilometers per second, meaning it is not bound by the sun’s orbit, astronomers studying 3I/Atlas said Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through the solar system — only the third-ever spotted, although scientists suspect many more might slip past unnoticed. The visitor from the stars, designated 3I/Atlas, is likely the largest yet detected, and has been classified as a comet, or cosmic snowball. “It looks kind of fuzzy,” said Peter Veres, an astronomer with the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, which was responsible for the official confirmation. “It seems that there is some gas around it, and I think one or two telescopes reported a very short tail.” Originally known as A11pl3Z before
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
BRICS leaders are to meet in Rio de Janeiro from today, with the bloc depleted by the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), who is skipping the annual summit of emerging economies for the first time in 12 years. The grouping meets as its members face imminent and costly tariff wars with the US. Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be dominated by Beijing, which grew much faster and larger than the rest. China has not said why Xi would miss the summit, a first since he became president in 2013. “I expect there
RSS