The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court [4] on Jan. 26 sentenced [5] legal scholar and activist Xu Zhiyong [6] to four years in prison on the charge of "gathering a crowd to disturb public order." Xu is the founder of the New Citizens' Movement [7], a grass-roots organization which seeks to draw attention to matters of public discontent, including equal access to education and disclosure of Chinese officials' personal assets to combat corruption. Xu's trial was on Jan. 22, and his closing statement [8] to the court was interrupted after roughly 10 minutes by the judge, who said his comments were irrelevant. In his statement, Xu addresses the need to uphold constitutional rights for all citizens in China under the Constitution of the People's Republic of China [9]. US Ambassador Gary Locke [10] issued a statement [11] on the day after Xu's trial, expressing concern over the recent arrests of advocates for government reform in China. Amnesty International [12] called the four-year sentence shameful [13], and the Human Rights Watch [14] called the trial a pretext [15] for a broad crackdown on popular protests against corruption.
From Jurist [16], Jan. 26. Used with permission.
