tried in secret on charges of "inciting subversion."
Neither his attorney nor his family were informed that the trial was to take place at Beijing’s No. 1 People’s Intermediate Court on Tuesday, December 12, US officials and a major human rights group confirmed. He reportedly pleaded "guilty" to the subversion charges, but Human Rights in China (HRIC) suggested there were indications that the 42-year-old Gao had been forced by authorities to make such a statement.
National security police reportedly threatened Gao on several occasions this year. On one occasion, he allegedly barely escaped what he called "an intended assassination" attempt by police as he was out driving. HRIC said there was a "lack of transparency throughout the process" and a "climate of intimidation surrounding the case, including the violent attack on Gao’s wife."
HRIC Executive Director Sharon Hom said that "If the rule of law is to mean anything, defendants should at the very least be afforded effective legal representation of their choice and access to the evidence against them." No verdict or sentence were announced. Gao was detained in August while visiting his sister’s home in Shangdong province. He was officially arrested on September 21 and charged with “inciting subversion” against the state.
REJECTING ATTEMPTS
In a letter released by HRIC the law firm representing the human rights lawyer said the Chinese authorities refused it access to the detained Gao Zhisheng. Officials apparently also rejected attempts by the Mo Shaoping Law Firm to release Gao on bail pending trial. The Chinese government has not rejected to the latest claims.
In Washington, the United States State Department expressed concern about the trial and said it was closely monitoring the case. "We have seen reports that human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was tried on charges of inciting subversion December 12. While we are seeking further details on this case, we are concerned by reports that neither Gao’s family nor his legal
counsel were informed of the hearing or allowed to be present," the State Department said.
The State Department described the case against Gao as "the latest in an apparent trend to punish legal and social activists who have been working to protect the rights of their fellow citizens." It said it had raised "concerns" in Beijing and Washington and that it continues "to urge the Chinese government to release Gao and other activists who have been detained simply for peacefully exercising their internationally-recognized fundamental rights and the rights of all Chinese citizens according to China’s own constitution."
SEVERAL CASES
Gao and other Chinese lawyers represented clients filing lawsuits over corruption, land seizures, police rights abuses and religious freedom issues, cases analysts say are seen as a "particular threat" to the power base of Beijing.
In recent months, Gao also wrote three open letters to President Hu Jintao with demands that the Communist government stops "persecuting" practitioners of the banned group Falun Gong.
Observers have warned the court will likely punish Gao referring to other cases including a reinstated guilty verdict this month against Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer who worked to reveal abuses of China’s one-child policy and forced abortions. (With reports from China and BosNewsLife Research).
