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Rescuers search for victims from the debris after an earthquake hit the Sichuan province, China - Source: Reuters
A Chinese activist who sought to document shoddy construction
that contributed to deaths in China's devastating 2008 earthquake
has been sentenced to five years in prison for subversion, his
lawyer said.
Tan Zuoren was formally accused of inciting subversion of state
power in emailed comments about the bloody crackdown on June 4,
1989, on pro-democracy demonstrators around Tiananmen Square.
But Tan's supporters and Amnesty International say he was detained
because he planned to issue an independent report on the collapse
of school buildings during the Sichuan earthquake, in which more
than 80,000 people died.
His trial in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, was
adjourned without a verdict in August last year.
He plans to appeal, lawyer Pu Zhiqiang said, adding that the
sentence Tan received was the maximum possible.
"The Sichuan government action isn't in line with the central
government's downplaying of the June 4 incident," Pu said.
The Chinese government usually avoids all mention of the
crackdown in public, hoping to effectively airbrush the incident
out of official history.
Speaking outside the courthouse in Chengdu, Tan's wife told
reporters the trial had been unjust and completely absurd.
Tan's earthquake activism was not included in the case, Pu said,
adding that he was the first person in a decade to be sentenced for
actions related to the June 4 crackdown.
"I think this is a very important case for China, more important
than that of Liu Xiaobo," said Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who also
campaigned for earthquake victims, referring to a Chinese dissident
jailed in December for 11 years for online essays calling for civil
rights and multi-party elections.
"It shows the Chinese legal system has taken a big step backwards.
Tan's 'crime' was entirely one of speech, of conscience."
Roughed up
Ai, who compiled a list of the children who died in the quake, was
roughed up when he travelled to Chengdu to attend the August
trial.
In another reminder of official sensitivities, several Hong Kong
reporters covering the trial in Chengdu were manhandled by police
and told to leave.
One reporter who filmed the standoff on her mobile phone had it
snatched away, Hong Kong's Cable Television reported with footage
of the incident.
Last August, a Hong Kong television crew was prevented from
attending the trial and had their hotel room searched under the
pretext that they were hiding drugs.
China's official statistics show that 5,335 children died in the
quake, which killed about 80,000 people and left five million
homeless.
In many towns, schools collapsed, burying the children inside,
while surrounding residential buildings stayed standing.
Tan's August trial was held a week after another earthquake
activist, Huang Qi, was tried on state secrets charges in
Chengdu.
Huang was sentenced to three years in jail in November.
Court officials refused to confirm the verdict when contacted on
Tuesday.
