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China lawyer in court in 3rd of series of subversion trials
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The marquee for the Fengrui Law Firm is seen at the entrance to their offices in Beijing, July 17, 2015. Trials started this week of Chinese lawyers and legal rights activists who were detained in July last year and charged with subversion for their attempts to bring attention to abuses and demand government accountability. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
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Chinese lawyer is in court in the third of a series of subversion trials demonstrating the ruling Communist Party's determination to shut down independent human rights activists and government critics.
Zhou Shifeng's trial got underway Thursday morning in the northern city of Tianjin. Zhou had been director of Beijing's Fengrui Law Firm that took on numerous sensitive cases and represented people who dared challenge the party.
His trial follows those of two legal activists earlier this week, one of whom was sentenced to 7 ½ years and the other given a suspended sentence, both on charges of subversion.
As with the others, Zhou was detained in July of last year amid a sweeping roundup of activists and lawyers, most of whom were eventually released after questioning.
