Authorities
in Shanghai have suspended the law license of Guo Guoting, defense attorney for
three jailed journalists as well as a number of other dissidents and members of
the Falun Gong religious sect. The suspension throws into question the defense
of imprisoned writers Shi Tao, Zhang Lin and Huang Jinqiu.
The
Shanghai Department of Justice on February 23 issued notice of a one-year
suspension of Guo's license to practice law, the lawyer told the Committee to
Protect Journalists. The notice cited articles he has posted online criticizing
the Communist Party. But Guo told Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that he believed he has been punished for
taking up controversial cases involving freedom of expression and religion.
City and district authorities have regularly warned Guo to stop his advocacy of
political prisoners such as the imprisoned writers, he said.
A
hearing to review the decision was held on March 4. The Shanghai Justice Bureau
has upheld its decision to suspend the law license of defense lawyer Guo
Guoting. The Bureau reportedly accused Guo of "on several occasions
adopting positions and making statements contrary to the law and the
Constitution" and “defiling and slandering” the Communist Party and
government. According to a report published last week by the Committee to
Protect Journalists, the Bureau issued a notice on February 23 suspending Guo’s
license to practice law. Guo, who plans to appeal the ruling, reportedly stated
that the suspension was “unjustified official punishment.” Earlier, Guo said
reporters that the government was trying to silence him for defending other
activists
"Journalists
Shi Tao, Zhang Lin and Huang Jinqiu are in jail today because they wrote or
distributed essays that offended the political leadership," CPJ Executive
Director Ann Cooper said today. "The suspension of their defense
attorney's license, apparently for related reasons, points again to the failure
of the Chinese government to accommodate criticism or to ensure adequate legal
protection for those who express dissent."
Guo,
a well-known lawyer, has defended journalists, Falun Gong practitioners, and
other activists. Last year, he defended Zheng Enchong, another lawyer who
advocated on behalf of evicted Shanghai residents. Zhang was convicted on
charges of disclosing state secrets. Guo is also the defense attorney for three
imprisoned writers: Shi Tao, Zhang Lin, and Huang Jinqiu. He was scheduled to
attend a hearing on March 7 to represent reporter Shi Tao, who is charged with
"leaking state secrets to foreigners" for posting online a document
related to the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. With his
licenses suspended, Guo likely will not be able to defend these individuals any
longer.
Guo
was also the defense attorney for Internet journalist Huang Jinqiu, who was
sentenced in September 2004 to 12 years in prison for "subversion of state
power."
On
February 22, before his license was revoked, Guo was barred from a scheduled
visit to Zhang Lin, a dissident writer imprisoned since January 29 for articles
he posted on overseas online news sites and Web sites related to the Falun Gong
movement. Zhang was detained on his return to Anhui Province after travelling
to Beijing to mourn the death of ousted leader Zhao Ziyang. While he was
scheduled to be released after 15 days of administrative detention, Zhang is
now being held in "criminal detention" under suspicion of
"endangering state security" for articles he posted online calling
for political reform.
On
February 24, Guo was scheduled to attend a hearing to represent reporter Shi
Tao, who is charged with "leaking state secrets to foreigners" for
posting online a document related to the 15th anniversary of the military
crackdown at Tiananmen Square.
The
document was an abstract of a Central Propaganda Department circular issued to
newspaper editors on April 20, 2004, warning that dissidents would be marking
the anniversary. Guo has previously argued that the document, which had been
distributed to editors at Shi's Changsha newspaper Dangdai Shangbao, was
pertinent public information and should not be classified as a state secret.
Chinese
defense lawyers who represent their clients too vigorously or on politically
sensitive matters often face harassment and even prosecution. In some cases,
authorities have threatened to revoke or actually revoked law licenses as they
have in Guo Guoting’s case. In other cases, prosecutors have brought
questionable corruption or "evidence fabrication" charges against
lawyers. Although official Chinese sources acknowledge (1, 2) such problems and
the government has taken some limited steps to address them, the work
environment for defense attorneys does not appear to be improving
significantly. According to a recent report in the 21st Century Business
Herald, Beijing officials blocked the publication of the results of a survey of
criminal defense lawyers after the initial survey results suggested severe
problems. The suspension of Guo Guoting's license is further evidence that the
work environment for criminal defense attorneys remains poor.
Date: 01 March 2005
Source: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) /IFEX: Reporters without borders
Urgency: Threat
(CPJ/IFEX)
