THE LONG-AWAITED trial of Chinese democracy activist Liu Xiaobo will start on Wednesday, his lawyer said yesterday.
Investigators are accusing him of attempting to subvert state power by posting essays online and co-authoring the Charter 08appeal for reform.
The charge of subversion is commonly used to jail dissidents and the 53-year-old literary critic and former university professor could be jailed for up to 15 years.
The courts are effectively run by the Communist Party and are unlikely to disagree with the prosecution’s arguments, especially in such a politically sensitive case like Liu Xiaobo’s.
Mr Liu previously spent nearly two years in jail for joining the 1989 student-led protests in Tiananmen Square. He also prevented more bloodshed by successfully negotiating with the army the evacuation of the last remaining students on the square in the early morning of June 4th.
The European Union and the United States have appealed to Beijing to free Mr Liu. But the Chinese government has rejected the calls and accused the EU and the US of trying to meddle in China's legal system. He was detained a year ago just before the release of Charter 08, which is the closest thing to a pro-democracy movement that China has seen for years.
The charter calls for a constitution guaranteeing human rights, the open election of public officials, and freedom of religion and expression. The document included a direct reference to the events of that time as an example of the “long trail of human rights disasters” caused by the Communist Party’s monopoly on power. Since its publication, about 10,000 have signed the document.
Jailed in 1989, Mr Liu has spent most of his time in prison or under surveillance. He has remained a constant thorn in the regime’s side over his calls for greater democracy in China.
Mr Liu’s lawyer Shang Baojun said police told him the accused’s trial will open Wednesday at the number one Intermediate People’s Court in Beijing. He said his client plans to plead not guilty.
His wife Liu Xia said she had also been notified of the impending trial and was sure her husband would fight the charges. She has not seen or spoken to her husband since March when police arranged a short, supervised meeting for the couple in a Beijing hotel room.