China Convicts Prominent Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang of Speech Violations While Nominated for Columbia 2016 Global Freedom of Expression Award
A court in Beijing convicted Pu Zhiqiang, one of China’s foremost human rights lawyers, of crimes early on December 22, 2015 because of comments he posted online. The court sentenced Pu to three years in prison, but, according to the BBC, said that the sentence would be suspended. The charges against the lawyer essentially equate the…