Dissident couple on trial for criticizing Beijing, interviewing foreign media – Radio Free Asia

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A dissident poet and his wife were tried in southwest China’s Yunnan Province on Wednesday for “inciting to subvert state power” in connection with his public support for Hong’s pro-democracy movement. Kong, learned RFA.

The trial of Wang Zang and his wife Wang Li was held behind closed doors at the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture Intermediate People’s Court, Wang Zang’s attorney Zhang Lei confirmed.

“It’s ongoing,” Zhang said, but declined to comment further amid a crackdown on lawyers speaking to the media about the cases.

Wang Li’s attorney, Zhang Tingyuan, also declined to comment.

“Today’s session is over,” Zhang said. “I can’t tell you anything more, I hope you understand.”

Another defense attorney, Lu Siwei, said Wang Zang and Wang Li both pleaded not guilty and their lawyers presented their defense in court, in a trial that lasted only one day. The verdict and sentence will be announced at a later date.

“Wang Zang is fine, because he is quite young and healthy, but his wife’s health is much worse,” Lu said. “She should have been put in a [psychiatric] hospital.”

“She’s suffering from depression.”

Lu said the case was likely linked to Wang Zang’s public support for the 2014 Occupy Central pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.

“[He also] made some criticism during the worst part of the pandemic in February and March 2020, ”he said. “He also wrote poems that the Chinese authorities considered to contain [political] meanings. “

“He also won an award from the China Independent PEN Association, so maybe that also counted as so-called evidence of criminality,” Lu said.

Lu was part of Wang Zang’s defense team but was not allowed to appear in court because his license to practice law was revoked.

“There are restrictions on what I can do as a defense lawyer,” Lu said. “I cannot appear in court as his defense lawyer, but I can write a defense. public of him. “

Access to donations interrupted

Lu said Wang Zang and Wang Li’s four young children had been living with their grandmother for a year under house arrest after the authorities cut off their access to funds.

“There is a [police] car in their residential complex 24-hour 24, and people watching the corridor[àl’extérieurdeleurappartement”adéclaréLuàRFA”Lepirec’estquelescadeauxetleslivresenvoyéspardesamisdanstoutlepaysauxenfantsontétéinterceptésparlesautoritésquidoitgarantirladistributionnormaleducourrier[outsidetheirapartment”LutoldRFA”Theworstthingisthatgiftsandbookssentbyfriendsalloverthecountrytothekidshavebeeninterceptedbytheauthoritieswhoshouldguaranteethenormaldeliveryofmail”[àl’extérieurdeleurappartement»adéclaréLuàRFA«Lepirec’estquelescadeauxetleslivresenvoyéspardesamisdanstoutlepaysauxenfantsontétéinterceptésparlesautoritésquidoitgarantirladistributionnormaleducourrier[outsidetheirapartment”LutoldRFA”Theworstthingisthatgiftsandbookssentbyfriendsalloverthecountrytothekidshavebeeninterceptedbytheauthoritieswhoshouldguaranteethenormaldeliveryofmail”

“It’s really pretty evil,” he said.

In their request to indict Wang Zang, the local police cited his recent poems, essays, interviews with foreign media and artistic performances since his last release from prison in 2015.

Wang Zang was initially detained in May 2020, while Wang was taken away on June 27, 2020.

According to the arrest notices received by the family in September 2020, Wang Zang and Wang Li were officially arrested by the Chuxiong Prefecture Public Security Bureau on July 3 and 24 of the same year, respectively, for “incitement. to subvert the power of the state ”.

The charges against Wang Li appear to stem from her speaking about her husband’s arrest via social media and interviews she gave to foreign journalists, said Human Rights Watch (HRW), based in New York.

Wang Li is being held at the Chuxiong Prefecture Detention Center, HRIC said.

Wang Zang previously resided in the artist village of Songzhuang in Beijing and was previously the target of repeated forced evictions and jail time for showing his online support for the 2014 Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong.

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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