Li Tie

On 18 January 2012, human rights defender and writer Mr Li Tie was sentenced to ten years in prison on subversion charges based on articles published on-line in which he was critical of the Chinese government and called on people to defend their rights.

In the last ten years Li Tie has written a number of articles endorsing democratic reform and advocating for local elections.

On 18 January 2012, following a hearing which lasted approximately half an hour, Wuhan Intermediate People's Court sentenced Li Tie to ten years in prison for “subversion of State power”. According to information received from Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), it is unclear whether any of Li Tie's family members were able to attend the verdict hearing and no other details about the hearing are available at this time.

The issuing of the verdict comes nine months after the trial hearing, which took place on 18 April 2011, despite the provision in Chinese law that a court must issue its verdict within two and a half months of the trial.

Li Tie was initially detained on 15 September 2010 and was formally arrested on 22 October 2010.

His family hired human rights lawyer Jin Guanghong to represent him but the authorities forbid the lawyer from meeting with him and appointed another defence lawyer to the case. Jin Guanghong was reportedly subjected to an enforced disappearance before the trial. According to relatives of Li Tie, they never met the court-appointed lawyer before the hearing and he refused to give them a copy of the verdict.

The evidence put forward by the prosecution included articles Li Tie had written in which he was critical of the government. Specific reference was made to an article entitled “Human beings' heaven is human dignity”. According to CHRD, the prosecution argued that these articles, together with discussions Li Tie had engaged in on “reactionary” websites and comments he had made with friends, showed that he had “anti-government thoughts”. On this basis, the prosecution argued that Li Tie would likely engage in anti-government actions and therefore was guilty of subversion. Li Tie strongly denies the charges and maintains that his writings and actions were in line with the Constitution which ensures the right to freedom of expression. It is reported that Li Tie's mother and daughter were the only supporters of the human rights defender who were permitted to attend the trial hearing of 18 April 2011.

Li Tie is the third human rights defender to receive a heavy sentence in the last month. In late December 2011, human rights defenders Chen Wei and Chen Xi were sentenced to nine years and ten years in prison respectively, both on charges of inciting subversion. Human rights activists have expressed concern that the harsh sentences are signs that the government’s crackdown on dissidents is intensifying ahead of the one-year anniversary of the “Jasmine Revolution” rallies.

Front Line Defenders believes that the charges against Li Tie and the ten-year sentence handed down to him are directly related to his work in defence of human rights and the legitimate exercise of his right to freedom of expression.