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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Diplomats shut out of Chinese dissident's trial By CARA ANNA,Associated Press Writer - Thursday, December 24 Send IM Story Print BEIJING – A high-profile Chinese dissident accused of subversion was tried at a two-hour hearing Wednesday that shut out foreign diplomats concerned over a case that reflects the communist government's deep suspicion of calls for political reform. Liu Xiaobo was detained a year ago, just before the release of an unusually direct appeal for more civil rights in China he co-authored called Charter 08, signed by scores of China's top intellectuals. He faces up to 15 years in jail. The verdict is due Friday. International human rights groups and Western nations have heavily criticized Liu's detention. A dozen diplomats, including from the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada, stood outside the Beijing courthouse in freezing weather, barred from entering, along with a handful of Liu's Chinese supporters. "We call on the government of China to release him immediately," said Gregory May, first secretary with the U.S. Embassy. The European Union made a similar appeal. Liu, 53, a literary critic and former professor, spent 20 months in jail for joining the 1989 student-led protests in Tiananmen Square that were crushed in a military crackdown. In his writings, most published only on the Internet, he has strongly called for civil rights and political reform. Charter 08 demands a new constitution guaranteeing human rights, the open election of public officials, and freedom of religion and expression. Some 10,000 people have signed it in the past year, though a news blackout and Internet censorship have left most Chinese unaware that it exists. Liu has been the only person arrested over the charter, but rights groups said several signers have been harassed or fired from their jobs, and warned not to attend the trial or write about it online. However a few of them risked turning up at the courthouse Wednesday, where dozens of uniformed and plainclothes police were deployed. They passed out yellow ribbons but doubted Liu would go free. "It's not like we stand out here today and tomorrow China gets democracy," said one signer, 36-year-old Cao Jinbai. "This trial is already decided." Liu is charged with inciting to subvert state power, a vaguely worded charge that is routinely used to jail dissidents and carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. Liu's wife said she was not allowed to leave her home to attend the trial. Liu's brother-in-law, Liu Hui, was allowed inside and said Liu appeared to be healthy and in good spirits. Liu admitted "to practicing his freedom of speech, but did not admit to trying to overturn the state's power," the brother-in-law said. The prosecution did not say what penalty they wanted if Liu is found guilty. "As always, Liu Xiaobo believed that he is innocent," his lawyer, Shang Baojun, said by telephone after the trial. People answering phones at the No. 1 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing would not comment on the trial or why the diplomats and many others were barred from entering. Coming despite months of international pressure on China to release Liu, the trial underscores the government's determination to squelch dissent and other perceived threats to political stability in the one-party state. Last month, veteran dissident Huang Qi, who had criticized the government's response to a 2008 earthquake, was sentenced to three years in prison. Weeks before that, the founder of a Tibetan literary Web site was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of disclosing state secrets, according to an overseas monitoring group. The charges appeared related to the passing of information about anti-government protests in Tibet last year. The barring of diplomats from Wednesday's court proceedings also emphasizes the limited leverage Western governments, including the U.S., have with China in such cases. Despite the call for Liu's release, the Obama administration has generally tried to keep disputes over human rights, a perennial irritant in relations, from damaging a broader agenda crowded with the economic crisis, climate change, nuclear proliferation and other global issues. New York-based Human Rights Watch was deeply skeptical that Liu would get justice. "The only purpose of this trial is to dress up naked political repression in the trappings of legal proceedings," Sophie Richardson, the group's advocacy director for Asia, said in a statement. Liu's supporters who turned up at the courthouse said they had read about his case on Twitter after finding a way around China's blocking of the microblogging site. The hearing also attracted other Chinese with grievances against the government who snuck through the ring of police to make their cases to foreign media. They were dispersed and in some cases detained after the trial was over. Tong Guojing, 47, a Charter 08 signer, said police detained him on his way to the subway after the trial and asked why he was in Beijing. He was made to wait at a processing center to be picked up by authorities from his hometown Shanghai. "They asked about the yellow ribbons," he said by telephone from the processing center. "This is ridiculous." He recounted how Shanghai police had visited him twice before to warn him against signing the charter, but he did anyway. He said it was not intended to sabotage the communist regime. "Liu's our hero," he said. "It wasn't meant to overthrow the government. It was advice." ___ Associated Press writer Isolda Morillo contributed to this report. ___ On the Net: Charter 08: http://www.2008xianzhang.info/english.htm Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles North Korea turns to air smuggling AP - Thursday, December 24 Pakistan Taliban: Our fighters head to Afghan war AP - Thursday, December 24 Diplomats shut out of Chinese dissident's trial AP - Thursday, December 24 Taiwan policeman injured as protesters hound China envoy AFP - Thursday, December 24 Tibetan official Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme dies at 99 AP - Thursday, December 24 News Search Top Stories Parents in 'Balloon boy' hoax jailed On the move: Species face race against climate change Greek parliament to adopt 2010 crisis budget Oil prices rise before US inventory data OPEC warns of weak recovery for oil market More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended Watchmaker 'stands with Tiger' amid new cheating reports British priest defends urging people to shoplift Century-old butter found in Scott's Antarctic hut OPEC warns of weak recovery for oil market Britain stuck in recession More Most Viewed » Tiger's wife Elin seeking divorce: reports Century-old butter found in Scott's Antarctic hut Virgin unveils spaceship to offer space tourism Brazilian confesses to sticking needles into two-year-old Tiger Woods' girlfriend apologizes in TV interview More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! 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