Lawyer sentenced to three years in prison for subversion

Beijing(China)—Beijing-based lawyer Gao Zhisheng was given a three-year suspended prison sentence for subversion, according to a statement released by a Beijing court on Friday.
Gao was given a five-year reprieve and deprived of his political rights for one year, which means he will not have to serve any of his sentence unless he is found guilty of another crime over the next five years. Gao was accused of posting nine “seditious articles”, including “Three Open Letters to Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao” and one titled “The Regime Has Never Stopped Killing People” on websites like Epochtimes.com and SecretChina.com, the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court said in the statement.
The court ruled that the articles defamed the Chinese central government and amounted to agitation aimed at toppling the government. The court also decided that Gao had slandered the government and China’s social system in ten interviews he conducted with overseas media such as “Radio Free Asia” and “Voice of Hope”. Recordings of the talks were posted on the radio stations’ websites. The statement said the court had showed leniency in the form of a five-year reprieve as Gao “voluntarily reported other people’s offences and provided important clues to crack other cases”.
The court said it had published the time and venue of the trial three days in advance in accordance with the provisions of the law. It also notified the prosecutor and defense counsels. Gao’s family were present when the verdict was announced. The court said it had clearly told Gao that he had the right to appoint lawyers to defend him. Gao told the court that as a lawyer himself, he did not need any lawyer. He also refused to let his family finding a lawyer for him.
Nevertheless, the court appointed two lawyers for Gao to protect his rights. Both the lawyers and Gao himself have aired their defending opinions during the trail.

—Daily Mail, People’s Daily news exchange item