Geng Xiaonan was formally arrested on suspicion of “illegal business operation” after being detained in September last year for political retaliation for rescuing Xu Zhangrun.
Beijing-based publisher Geng Xiaonan, who is suspected to have been prosecuted by the authorities in retaliation for rescuing Tsinghua University professor Xu Zhongrun, has suddenly dismissed one of his lawyers, Shang Baojun. It is reported that the public security authorities used the dismissal as a condition to reduce her punishment. But lawyers and friends have questioned whether the public security authorities can keep their promise. Concerned people believe that Geng Xiaonan should be released without charge.
Shang Baojun, who had been granted permission to visit Geng Xiaonan, was denied access to the Haidian Detention Center in Beijing last Wednesday (13), and police said Geng Xiaonan had been released from his retainer.
In an interview with the station, Shang Baojun believes that Geng Xiaonan made his choice under the pressure of reality, which is a regular practice of the authorities for some political retaliation cases. He hopes that the compromise will lead to the official fulfillment of his promise.
Shang Baojun said: “The usual routine of public security is like this: you cooperate with us, change your lawyer, and then we will give you the lightest possible treatment; she (Geng Xiaonan) is in a difficult situation, and the pressure on her is very great, so she does not have many options. Of course, if the public security is true to its word, we hope that she can hurry out, for fear of being cheated by them.
A friend of Geng Xiaonan also confirmed to the station that Geng Xiaonan was forced to compromise in exchange for the lightest punishment.
Wang Jianhong, a British Chinese scholar who has appealed for Geng Xiaonan, Zhang Zhan and other victims of persecution, said that Geng Xiaonan was originally innocent and that the authorities had concocted economic charges to take political revenge. She is also concerned about whether Geng Xiaonan is being subjected to more pressure, such as torture, in addition to being forced to “confess” and “dismiss his lawyer.
Ms. Geng Xiaonan should have been acquitted a long Time ago, said Wang Jianhong. Now she is being persecuted on economic charges. The news that Ms. Geng Xiaonan was forced by the authorities to dismiss the lawyer of her choice makes us very worried about Geng Xiaonan’s situation in prison after being detained for so long? Has she been under extreme pressure? Is she being physically abused ……? It is very worrying whether the authorities will keep their promise of a lighter sentence.
It is estimated that the authorities will decide whether to formally charge Geng Xiaonan as soon as this month. Geng Xiaonan’s chosen lawyer, Qu Zhenhong, will continue to represent him in the case and was allowed to meet with him again last week. Geng Xiaonan’s husband Qin Zhen, who was arrested in connection with the case, has also accepted the official terms under pressure, including the freezing of his company’s finances.
When Xu Zhangrun, a former professor at Tsinghua University, was taken away by police last July for repeatedly speaking out against Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party system and accused of “prostitution,” Geng Xiaonan ran to his rescue. Two months later, Geng Xiaonan and her husband were both criminally detained by the police, and at the end of October last year were formally arrested by the authorities on suspicion of “illegal business operation,” which was commonly seen by public opinion as “political retaliation” for his rescue of Xu Zhongrun.
Geng Xiaonan has also made a series of public appeals to draw attention to a number of detained prisoners of conscience, including Chen Qiushi, a lawyer who disappeared after investigating the truth about the Wuhan Epidemic; Xu Zhiyong, a legal scholar who was arrested for calling for Xi Jinping’s ouster; Ding Jiaxi, a lawyer; and Wang Yi, a pastor in Chengdu.
Geng Xiaonan, 46, graduated from the Central Academy of Drama with a degree in directing and is the founder of Beijing Ruiya Culture Company, which publishes books on cooking and health care. Earlier, it was reported that Geng Xiaonan’s detention had deteriorated and that authorities had threatened to increase the number of so-called “illegal publications” in order to increase the amount of incriminating evidence. Last December, Geng Xiaonan was awarded the Independent Chinese PEN “Lin Zhao Memorial Award.
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