New | Chinese rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang rejects charges in heated trial over social media posts critical of Communist Party

One of China’s most outspoken human rights lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang, defended himself in court on Monday, denying that he had incited ethnic hatred or “provoked trouble” by writing microblog commentaries critical of the Communist Party, his lawyer said.

READ MORE: Chinese rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang goes on trial over social media posts criticising Communist Party

The three-hour trial at the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People’s Court ended without a verdict, said Pu’s lawyer Shang Baojun, although he expected an outcome “very soon”.

Pu’s trial took place 19 months after he was detained by police. Pu, famed for defending dissidents and rights activists, was detained in May last year after he attended a private seminar to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.

His ordeal is widely seen as a political case to silence him and to warn other rights advocates against speaking up.

Pu is charged with “inciting ethnic hatred” and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for the content of seven Weibo messages that he posted online between July 2011 and May 2014. He faces up to eight years in jail.

Pu’s online messages were mostly remarks critical of the government’s handling of an ethnic conflict in Kunming, Yunnan province, last year and sarcastic comments about two officials.

Shang said Pu admitted in court that his microblog writing style was “sharp, caustic and sometimes vulgar” and was willing to apologise.

“[But] he said he didn’t think he had incited ethnic hatred or provoked trouble. He had no such intention,” Shang said. He said Pu was not asked whether he admitted to his guilt during the trial.