Tuesday February 9, 2010
China lawyer's jail term reduced after guilty plea
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese lawyer jailed for falsifying evidence in a high-profile mob trial had his sentence cut on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to asking his client, a suspected mafia boss, to lie about being mistreated in custody.
The prosecution of Li Zhuang, who had sought to defend his client by asserting he had been tortured, has outraged and alarmed Chinese lawyers, who fear it could set a precedent for intimidation of the legal profession.
An appeals court in the southwestern city of Chongqing reduced Li's sentence to 18 months, a year less than the term imposed by a lower court, "in light of his attitude towards admission of guilt," the state-owned China News portal said.
Li, who been originally sentenced last month after denying the charges, pleaded guilty in the appeals court last week without informing his lawyers of his decision, China News (www.chinanews.com.cn) reported, citing the court.
Police in Chongqing arrested Li, the defence lawyer for accused gang leader Gong Gangmo, on charges of falsifying evidence and jeopardising testimony late last year.
Li's client is one of many high-profile defendants in Chongqing, a smog-shrouded industrial hub, where Communist Party Secretary Bo Xilai has mounted a very public battle against underworld gangs linked to police corruption.
Many see Bo's campaign as an effort to return to the national stage, and as a challenge to his predecessor in Chongqing, Wang Yang, a protege of Chinese President Hu Jintao who is now party secretary of Guangdong province.
Chinese lawyers have complained that officials eager to score convictions have trampled on legal rules and the rights of Li to a fair trial.
Criminal defence lawyers have complained for years that laws give scant protection for the accused and their advocates, and in particular that provisions on evidence fabrication are vague and open to abuse by police.
(Reporting by Yu Le and Lucy Hornby; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Copyright © 2010 Reuters
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