MCLC: Li Tie sentenced for subversion

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Jacqueline Winter <dujuan99 at gmail.com>
Subject: Li Tie sentenced for subversion
**********************************************************

Source: South China Morning Post (1/19/12):
http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a
0a0/?vgnextoid=7b058f6ad44f4310VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=China&s=News

Writer sentenced to ten years for subversion
By Reuters in Beijing

A court in the mainland has sentenced writer Li Tie to 10 years in prison
on subversion charges for writing essays that urged people to defend their
rights, a relative said, the third person to be sentenced on such charges
in less than a month.

The court in Wuhan tried Li Tie in April last year but only declared him
guilty on Tuesday of "subversion of state power," the relative, who
declined to be named for fear of retribution, said.

The charge is more serious than the one of incitement, often used against
critics of the ruling Communist Party.

"He said in court: ŒI¹m not guilty. When have I subverted state power?¹"
the relative said.

"The state has made this conclusion against him," the relative said. "You
can¹t understand it. Under these circumstances, you¹re helpless. But this
is our reality. He sat in front of the computer subverting state power.¹"

Rights activists say the harsh sentences are worrying signs that the
government¹s crackdown on dissidents is intensifying, ahead of the first
anniversary of online calls for the Arab-Spring-inspired ŒJasmine
Revolution¹ rallies and before a leadership transition later in the year.

Calls to the Wuhan Intermediate People¹s court about Li¹s case were
unanswered.

Li, 52, was convicted for writing 13 essays that called for defending
"people¹s rights" that he published in newspapers overseas and on the
internet, said the relative. One of the essays was entitled Human Beings¹
Dignity is equivalent to heaven, the source said.

"He worshipped Chairman Mao and would use Mao Zedong¹s Thought in his
essays," the source said, referring to the communist theory espoused by
China¹s former leader. "He always used to tell me: ŒI¹m using the language
of the Communist Party, so why are they after me?¹" the relative said.

The sentence was meted out in half an hour, he added, noting the court
would not allow Li¹s lawyer to represent him and appointed another lawyer
to do so. Li was allowed to meet only with his mother and daughter.

Li was initially detained by the Wuhan public security bureau last
September on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power," his
relative said.

When the Wuhan court issued a formal notice on Li¹s arrest a month later,
the charge had been changed to "subversion of state power," he said. The
relative said the court did not give a reason for the more serious charge.

Li was a member of the China Social Democracy Party, according to the
Chinese Human Rights Defenders. China typically invokes "subversion" if
there is an "existence of some underground organisation", said Nicholas
Bequelin, a researcher with Human Rights Watch.

Defendants facing subversion charges in mainland courts are almost never
acquitted.

Communist Party chiefs are preparing for a leadership handover late next
year, when the party¹s long-standing focus on fending off political
challenges is likely to intensify.

We are not optimistic that the new leadership will be any different than
the current leadership in terms of human rights ," Sarah Schafer, East
Asia Researcher for Amnesty International, said in e-mailed comments. "But
we can hope that just maybe they¹ll be brave enough to change this
repressive environment and welcome different voices rather than stifling
them."

The latest sentence comes just three weeks after another dissident, Chen
Xi, was sentenced by a court in Guiyang, in the southwestern province of
Guizhou, to 10 years in jail for inciting subversion.

In December, another dissident ­ Chen Wei from Sichuan province in the
southwest ­ was jailed for nine years on similar charges of "inciting
subversion".

During the past decade, Li has written many online articles promoting
democracy, constitutional government, and direct local elections,
according to the Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

The authorities indicted veteran dissident Zhu Yufu on subversion charges
for writing a poem urging people to gather to defend their freedoms, his
lawyer said on Tuesday, "What the activists have in common is their
long-term unwavered (sic) commitment to democracy," said Songlian Wang,
research co-ordinator for the rights group.

"By doling harsh sentences against them, the Chinese government is sending
a clear message in response to the Arab Spring, it is drawing a red line ­
advocate democratisation and you¹d be given a decade in prison."