A US-based human rights body has charged the Chinese government with violating the rights of Liu Xiaobo the country's most prominent dissident by mounting a pre-determined political trial on him.
"The only purpose of this trial is to dress up naked political repression in the trappings of legal proceedings," said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.
"Liu's crimes are non-existent, yet his fate has been pre-determined. This is a travesty of justice," Richardson said.
Liu, a leading intellectual who spent nearly two years in prison after the Tiananmen crackdown, has been indicted for "incitement to subvert state power," a charge frequently used against dissidents because it allows the criminalization of criticisms of the government and the party.
Liu's trial is due to open in Beijing tomorrow morning.
Liu has been indicted for "incitement to subvert state power" for his contribution to the drafting of "Charter '08," a political manifesto calling for human rights and the rule of law in China, as well as several articles he had published in previous years.
He was arrested on December 8 last year and detained for over a year before being indicted.
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