Tianjin court ensured transparency in subversion trial

A Tianjin court took various measures since Tuesday to ensure transparency while hearing a high-profile case involving a group of activists accused of subverting State power.

Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court posted a forecast of the series of trials on its official micro-blogging account and published statements, videos and pictures on how the case hearings were developed for the public via its Twitter-like platform.

It was aimed at helping people understand the judicial process and receive public supervision, the court said.

On Tuesday, it publicly sentenced Zhai Yanmin, 55, who posted online comments against the government and organized petitioners to disturb public order, to three years in prison with a four-year reprieve for subverting State power.

On Wednesday, it also sentenced Hu Shigen, who asked Zhai to organize and broadcasted his subversive thoughts via his illegal organization, to seven years and six months in prison for the same charge.

Almost 50 people, including the media, law professors and attorneys, sat in the court's public gallery and heard the trials.

Of the media, five were from overseas organizations. They registered at the court after seeing the online forecast and got the chance to hear the case.

Although the courtroom has limited seats, overseas journalists who missed the registration could go to a media center in a hotel near the court, where information on the trial was provided in a timely manner via a big screen, along with some snacks, the court added.