Chinese writer Li Jianping will go on trial for subversion on Wednesday for posting political essays on the internet, a rights group said.
An intermediate court in Shandong province will hear Li’s case after charges against him were upgraded from “suspicion of defamation” to “inciting subversion of the state,” the China Rights Defenders said in a statement.
Li (40) a businessman and writer, was arrested in May last year after posting essays advocating greater democracy on the internet, according to the group.
An official at the court confirmed to Agence France-Presse by phone that the trial would be held, but refused to comment on the details of the case.
Although authorities have not specifically said what his alleged crimes were, overseas internet websites banned in China such as Boxun and Epoch Times have carried some of Li’s articles.
One described the late Mao Zedong’s regime as autocratic while another spoke about China’s lack of media freedom.
Li’s wife, Xu Hui, said last month that her husband was not guilty of any crimes.
“How is it possible that several essays can subvert state sovereignty?” Xu said, adding that she and their four-year-old daughter had not been allowed to visit Li since he was detained.
The maximum penalty for subversion is 15 years in jail, according to Li’s lawyer Zhang Xinshui.
Human and media rights groups say China’s Communist government is tightening control over the internet and the traditional press in an effort to quell growing social unrest.
In a recent example, another court in Shandong province last month sentenced secondary school teacher Ren Zhiyuan to 10 years’ jail for subversion after he posted political essays on the Internet.
Prosecutors accused Ren of posting an essay entitled The Road to Democracy on the web and attempting to recruit members to set up an organisation called “Mainland Democracy Frontline.” – AFP