Human rights lawyer Chang Weiping tried behind closed doors in Baoji

He was charged with trying to subvert the power of the state. Police prevented family members from attending the hearing. His lawyers have been forced not to disclose the details of the proceedings. Linked to the well-known dissident Xu Zhiyong, Chang complained of torture in prison.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – The Intermediate Court in Baoji (Shaanxi) yesterday tried human rights lawyer Chang Weiping behind closed doors on charges of trying to subvert the power of the state, an offence punishable with life imprisonment.

Chinese Human Rights Defenders reports that the defendant is now awaiting the verdict.

Police prevented family members from attending the hearing. Police stopped Chang’s wife Chen Zijuan for violating COVID-19 rules, blocking her car on a highway leading to Feng County, where the trial is being held.

Chang's two lawyers had to sign a confidentiality agreement preventing them from disclosing information about the ongoing proceedings.

The activist lawyer is linked to well-known dissident Xu Zhiyong. Founder of the New Citizens’ Movement, Xu is also on trial on subversion charges, waiting for the verdict.

Chang is known for defending people discriminated against for their sexual orientation or contracting HIV. He also dealt with cases involving political dissidents.

In 2018, the Baoji City Judicial Bureau suspended his professional licence; two years later he was debarred.

The authorities arrested Chang for the first time in January 2020. Like Xu Zhiyong, at the time he was in the crosshairs of the police for taking part in a meeting with pro-democracy activists in Xiamen (Fujian) in December 2019.

After his release, he posted a video on YouTube in October 2020 in which he said that he had been tortured in prison. Soon after, he was re-arrested.

• china
• shaanxi
• baoji
• feng country
• chang weiping
• xu zhiyong
• human rights
• abuses
• repression
• fascism
• subversion
• democracy