Defense attorneys free for riot suspects
- Source: Global Times
- [07:27 July 24 2009]
- Comments
Free criminal-defense services will be given to all those suspected of participating in the Xinjiang riots when they face trial, local authorities announced yesterday, while a Chinese expert called on the government to reinforce anti-terrorism legislation.
“The Department of Justice in Xinjiang will choose dozens of Uygur lawyers from local law offices to act as free criminal-defense attorneys,” Mao Li, general secretary of the Lawyers’ Association of Xinjiang, told the Global Times yesterday.
A 3-5 day training session on criminal law is to be arranged for Uygur lawyers who will provide legal assistance for those suspects, Mao added.
The Gonglian law firm in Urumqi, for example, is one of the law firms that has confirmed it will participate in the case.
“If the number of Uygur lawyers is not enough, we’ll have to choose some Han lawyers,” the Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao quoted an insider as saying yesterday.
The riots, the most violent in decades, caused the deaths of 197 people and injured more than 1,000 as hundreds of rioters, armed with bricks, sticks, swords and petrol bombs, beat pedestrians and smashed buses and property on the streets of Urumqi on July 5.
Investigations into the suspects have come to an end, and justice departments will approve the arrests soon, according to Mao, adding that judicial departments promised to ensure that each suspect is represented by a lawyer.
The first batch of suspects is expected to be sentenced before October 1 – National Day, the anniversary of the country’s founding – and the key organizers are believed to be among the first batch.
According to Chinese criminal law, free criminal defense can be provided to the suspects who may receive the death penalty, to the mentally handicapped and to minors.
“To provide free defense for the suspects just shows the spirit of the law. On the one hand, we will severely punish the criminals; on the other hand, we can’t hurt anyone who is innocent,” said Liu Renwen, a professor of Criminal Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Liu noted that this is the way to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the suspects. He said he believes that the related judicial department will strictly follow the principle of fair and equitable inquisition.
Meanwhile, Bo Xiao, director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of Xinjiang Regional People’s Congress, urged the nation to establish more effective anti-terror legislation to curb terrorism activities.
The riot was “a typical terrorist attack,”Bo told Xinhua.
In order to comfort victims of the riot, medical aid and relief were provided for bereaved families and people who were handicapped as a result, officials with the regional civil affairs department and the Xinjiang branch of China Charity Federation said Wednesday.