Lawyers finally allowed to see arrested quake dissident
Campaigner denied access to legal counsel for two months
Lawyers for Huang Qi , who campaigns for parents of children killed in the Sichuan earthquake, were finally allowed to see the dissident yesterday, but they were still denied access to prosecution documents.
Huang was detained in Chengdu on June 10 and formally arrested on a charge of 'illegal possession of state secrets' on July 18. He had been denied access to legal counsel until yesterday.
The authorities had promised lawyers they could see Huang after two months' detention but the meeting at the Chengdu Detention Centre only happened after four days of repeated demands by defence lawyers.
Defence counsel Mao Shaoping said Huang had told him that he was first questioned on his reports and photos on the May 12 earthquake, which were published on the website that he had set up, only after the beginning of his detention.
'Afterwards he was also grilled over a few documents that he had saved in his computer, which have been used as evidence for the charge of illegal possession of state secrets,' said Mr Mao, who along with fellow counsel Ding Xikui visited Huang yesterday morning. The nature of the documents was not disclosed because of the ongoing legal procedures.
'Huang Qi also said he was subjected to 24 hours of continuous questioning, which is tantamount to trying to extort evidence through coercion,' he said.
Huang, 44, campaigned for parents whose children had been killed in the 'tofu' schools when the earthquake hit and exposed malpractice in post-quake relief efforts.
The authorities have not clearly spelled out what kind of 'state secrets' Huang had got hold of, but his family believed it was his strong criticism of the 'tofu' schools that led to his arrest on a charge that is commonly used against dissidents.
Contrary to established procedures, Mr Mao said the prosecutor's office had claimed prosecution documents were being returned because of the need to add information.
'The existing rules require that the documents should rest with the prosecutor's office after the investigation closes,' he said.
Although Huang appeared to be all right, he still suffered from problems stemming from his previous jail term, Mr Mao said.
Huang has suffered various problems, including cerebral atrophy, water on the brain and inflammation of his heart muscle as a result of beatings while in jail for subversion from 2000 to 2005 after his website exposed corruption. He also advocated the release of those jailed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
His wife, Zeng Li , said a request for medical parole had been submitted to the prosecutor's office when she, along with Huang's mother and two lawyers went to the office in Chengdu on Monday.
'We've asked the lawyers to convey our messages to him that we are all right and hope he takes care of himself,' Ms Zeng said.
It is not known when the trial will be held.
