Wang Yonghang, avvocato per i diritti umani, è stato condannato a sette anni di prigione dalla corte cinese per il fatto di aver pubblicato articoli su siti all’infuori della Cina. Per le autorità comuniste il caso di Wang implica dei segreti nazionali.

A human rights lawyer, Wang Yonghang, has been sentenced to seven years in prison by the Chinese court over allegations that he published articles on the Internet sites outside of China.
Wang’s trial took place in the Shahekou District Court, Dalian City, China, on Oct. 27, 2009. He was represented by Beijing lawyers, Lan Zhixue and Zhang Chuanli. Since their involvement in the case, they have not been allowed to meet with Wang. The communist authorities said that this is because Wang’s case involves national secrets. They also tried to bar Lan and Zhang from participating in the court proceedings, but the lawyers insisted on being present at the hearing.

Lan said: “I requested to sit at the hearing as Wang’s lawyer. The judge said that I could only listen. Only then did Wang realize that his family had hired lawyers to represent him, and he asked for more information. It was obvious that the court did not inform him beforehand.”

The judge sentenced Wang to seven years in prison, accusing him of “damaging the implementation of the law” for publishing articles on an Internet site outside of China. Lan stated that Wang had pleaded innocent to the charge. After the hearing, Wang signed a letter of entrustment, appointing the two lawyers to appeal on his behalf.

Wang came under the ire of the communist regime for his public defense of Falun Gong practitioners. In 2008, he published an open letter to the Chinese Communist Party President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on an overseas website. The letter said that the Chinese regime’s persecution of people because of their belief in Falun Gong is not legal.

After publishing this letter, Wang was placed under police surveillance. In July 2009, officers from the Dalian Domestic Security Division kidnapped and tortured him, leaving him with a fractured ankle. Authorities have also harassed his wife, Yu Xiaoyan, and the two lawyers who are trying to represent him.

Lan told the New Tang Dynasty Television that they were videotaped by some people outside of the court. The lawyers said that these people acted quite obnoxiously, even in the presence of the policemen and the judge, suggesting that they were not ordinary civilians.

When Zhang questioned their identity and asked why they were videotaping, they replied, “We think you look good.”

After leaving the court, Yu, Lan, and Zhang were followed by a vehicle with the license plate number of DH997. When the lawyers dropped Yu off at her work place, they saw an officer from the Domestic Security Division. Yu said that the individual had been following her for a long time.

Since the kidnapping of her husband, Yu said that she received harassing phone calls, verbal threats, and had her house broken into.

According to Wang’s lawyers, the Shahekou District Court held a hearing of Wang’s case in mid-October without notifying them or Wang’s family. When Wang’s wife went to the court to inquire why she hadn’t been notified, she was informed that her local police station and the Street Administration Office were responsible for notifying people.

At the police station, the officers said that they didn’t bother to inform Yu because they thought the couple had divorced. Since the information about the divorce was not true, Yu told the police that someone was slandering her.

After seeing her husband briefly at the sentencing in court, Yu said: “Wang is seriously injured. One of his legs is atrophied. He is extremely weak, but he is very clearheaded and determined. I told him that we are alright at home, and not to worry.”

Fonte: DossierTibet, 2 dicembre 2009