Web exclusive published on Feb 9
Original article: [Chinese]


Image taken during original trial in January

Beijing lawyer Li Zhuang was sentenced to one and a half years in prison at an appeal hearing in Chongqing earlier today. The sentence marked a one year reduction on the original sentence he received on Jan 8 on charges of falsifying evidence and inciting others to bear false witness.

Following the announcement of the reduced sentence, Li Zhuang retracted the earlier admissions of guilt that he had made during the appeal hearing and went on to accuse local prosecutors of failing to honor a deal in which he would receive a suspended sentence in exchange for an admission of guilt.

The Chongqing No.1 Intermediate People's Court announced the verdict at 10am on February 9. The court, citing Li's admission of guilt during the second trial, reduced his sentence to 18 months.

After hearing the court's verdict, an enraged Li grabbed the microphone before him and announced that his earlier admissions of guilt, made during the open-hearing stages of the trial, were false.

He said the statements he made admitting to his guilt were induced by the local public security agency and prosecutors who promised him a suspended sentence in return. He also claimed that they said the only way a second hearing would be held, is if he admitted his guilt.

He went on to declare that "the local public security agency and prosecutors have absolutely cheated me ... the local prosecutor even tried to persuade me to give up my appeal. It was a complete deception and it will be exposed to the light of day sooner or later." 

Li appealed the country's 160,000 lawyers to continue to struggle in defense of their rights in the handling of criminal cases.

"I will fight this to the end, I will continue to appeal, goodbye," Li concluded, before being dragged away by two court police officers.

The charges against Li Zhuang were based on accusations leveled by former client Gong Gangmo, who himself has been charged with the crimes of murder, drug trafficking, organized crime and gun-related charges.

Gong's case is one of the high-profile criminal gang trials that are currently causing quite a stir in the southwest city of Chongqing. Many of the cases involve collusion between the highest levels of the municipality's public security apparatus and violent criminal gangs.

During the appeal hearing, Li Zhuang surprised many on lookers by suddenly admitting his guilt but, at the same time, refusing to drop his appeal. Li made repeated admissions of his guilt during the two-day open hearing held in Chongqing on February 2nd and 3rd.