(Provides sentencing)
By David Kirton and James Pomfret
SHENZHEN/HONG KONG, Could 11 (Reuters) – China sentenced lawyer and distinguished rights activist Guo Feixiong to a jail time period of eight years on Thursday, with diplomats from a number of international locations saying they had been barred from the trial within the southern metropolis of Guangzhou.
The sentence follows phrases of greater than a decade in jail every handed to 2 distinguished rights legal professionals, Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong in April, amid China’s clampdown on dissent since President Xi Jinping got here to energy in 2012.
Whereas rights teams say a whole lot of legal professionals and activists have been detained lately, China says it respects the rule of legislation and particular person rights and rejects criticism of its human rights report.
Guo, 58, has drawn worldwide consideration for campaigns towards points reminiscent of graft and censorship, and his accusations of mistreatment by Chinese language authorities throughout greater than a decade behind bars on earlier fees.
His newest detention, in 2022, got here a 12 months after he was stopped from leaving the nation to go to his dying spouse in the US, sparking additional outcry.
After a three-hour trial Guo, whose actual title is Yang Maodong, was discovered responsible of defaming China’s political system and inciting subversion of state energy, his brother mentioned in a press release, including that Guo would enchantment towards the judgment.
Thursday’s assertion was confirmed by Guo’s lawyer.
Diplomats from a number of international locations mentioned they had been prevented from attending the trial.
“Right this moment, U.S. diplomats had been blocked from attending the courtroom proceedings of Guo Feixiong,” the U.S. embassy in China mentioned on its Twitter account. “We proceed to name for Mr. Guo’s speedy launch so he could also be reunited together with his household.”
Diplomats from Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, and the Netherlands had been additionally turned away and informed by a courtroom clerk that overseas guests wanted approval from greater authorities, 4 diplomats informed Reuters on situation of anonymity.
The Guangzhou Intermediate Folks’s Court docket and China’s overseas ministry didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
In early 2021, Guo was stopped by officers on the airport within the industrial hub of Shanghai as he sought to go to his ailing spouse in the US.
His public pleas to be allowed to depart had been rebuffed and his spouse died of most cancers a few 12 months later. Two days after that, Guo was arrested by Guangzhou police and has been held in detention since, based on rights teams.
Guo was subjected to “years of mistreatment, imprisonment, routine harassment and surveillance, and denied overseas journey for his peaceable advocacy on behalf of the Chinese language individuals,” the U.S. state division has mentioned earlier. (By David Kirton in Shenzhen and James Pomfret in Hong Kong; Modifying by Bernadette Baum and Clarence Fernandez)