2013-08-16
Liu Xia (C), together with human rights lawyer Mo Shaoping (L), arrive at court in Beijing, April 23, 2013.
AFP
Authorities in the Chinese capital on Friday rejected an appeal against a jail term handed to the brother-in-law of jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, confirming the 11-year sentence for alleged “fraud.”
Liu Hui, who was initially held in January in connection with fraud charges linked to a property transaction, is the brother of Liu Xiaobo’s wife Liu Xia, who is currently under house arrest and didn’t attend the appeal hearing.
“Liu Hui is considering [whether or not to lodge a further appeal],” his lawyer Shang Baojun said on Friday after the decision was announced.
“We are waiting to hear what the rest of the family thinks, and we will also talk to lawyer Mo Shaoping,” he said. “We haven’t yet decided what the next step will be.”
“There is still an opportunity for another appeal if it is accepted, but they usually aren’t,” Shang said.
Liu Hui had been moved to a prison to serve his jail term, although his location wasn’t immediately known, he said.
The decision was handed down by the Huairou District People’s Court in Beijing following a hearing closed to journalists and foreign diplomats.
Political activism
Liu Xia and other relatives have repeatedly said the charges are linked to her own and Liu Xiaobo’s political activism, and have no connection to any real crime.
Liu Hui, 43, was sentenced to 11 year’s imprisonment, two years’ deprivation of political rights, and a 10,000 yuan (U.S.$1,630) fine in connection with a property dispute by the Huairou District People’s Court, in a northern suburb of Beijing, on June 10.
In April, Liu Xia appeared in public to attend her brother’s trial after years of house arrest.
Liu Xia, 54, who hasn’t been charged with any crime, has been held prisoner in the couple’s Beijing apartment since October 2010, when the Nobel committee first announced her husband’s award.
Her younger brother Liu Tong, who attended the hearing, told reporters on Friday that she had returned home on her way to attend the hearing because of a health problem.
He said Liu Hui had seemed in reasonably good spirits during the hearing, alert, and had spoken briefly against the decision.
“These sorts of laws are entirely made to protect individuals; how can you expect people to accept it?” he said. “How can they say the country is ruled according to law?”
“But it’s meaningless to be making social commentary over…a case like this,” he added.
Liu Hui was detained on Jan. 31 and accused of cheating a business associate out of more than 3 million yuan (U.S. $483,000).
Liu Hui, who manages a real estate firm in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, was alleged to have defrauded another man, together with a colleague.
Family lawyers suspect his case was likely linked to a brief visit to the Lius’ Beijing apartment late last year by rights activists concerned about Liu Xia’s well-being.
Legal action
Shang said the family was also considering whether to sue the Beijing police department for “illegal detention” of Liu Xia.
“If Liu Xiaobo decides to go ahead, we will make the application, we will go ahead,” Shang told RFA in an interview on Thursday.
“We are still waiting for his final word on this.”
Chinese dissidents, whether in jail or in exile overseas, frequently report official harassment and retaliatory action against their relatives.
Liu Xia didn’t attend the appeal hearing, Shang told Agence France-Presse on Friday, as she felt unwell during the journey to court and returned home.
“It is difficult to say if her judgement was affected by other factors,” he added, in a possible veiled reference to intimidation by the authorities.
In June, Liu Xia penned an open letter to Chinese president Xi Jinping in which she hit out at the “merciless oppression” meted out by the ruling Chinese Communist Party to its political opponents.
“Don’t let the Chinese dream for people like us become a ‘Chinese nightmare’,” she wrote, in a backhanded swipe at Xi’s slogan “the Chinese dream.”
“What we expect from the government of this country is justice, not merciless oppression.”
Reported by Hai Nan for RFA’s Cantonese Service and Xin Yu fo RFA’s Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
