China puts prominent Human rights lawyer on trial

One of China's most prominent human rights lawyers, Wang Quanzhang, has been put on trial in a closed court three-and-a-half years after he was detained for allegedly subverting the Chinese state.

Wang Quanzhang was taken into custody in July 2015, one of more than 200 lawyers and activists detained as part of a mass crackdown on human rights defenders across China.

Wang, known for his advocacy of practitioners of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement and Christians, is the last lawyer still behind bars as part of the sweep.

As the trial was taking place, protesters, some of whom had travelled from other cities, gathered outside the court in Tianjin.

The case is extremely sensitive in China, with dozens of plainclothes police blocking access to the front of the Tianjin No.2 Intermediate court and taking away at least two people who came to voice support for Wang.

Three camera crews purporting to be from an outlet called Legal Online harassed a small group of Western diplomats seeking to observe the trial and called at least one Chinese member of the foreign media a "traitor".

Wang's trial began on Wednesday morning local time and is being held behind closed doors due to the nature of the charges. It isn't clear how long the trial will last or when the final sentence will be handed down.

According to the indictment from prosecutors, Wang is accused of subverting the Chinese state by conspiring with a foreign NGO to organize training for Chinese lawyers and by representing practitioners of the banned and highly suppressed spiritual movement Falun Gong.

There was no indication from his court-appointed lawyer how he would plead prior to the trial, but the three-and-a-half-year period from arrest to court has prompted speculation that Wang refused to admit any wrongdoing during his protracted period under 'residential surveillance at a designated location' in detention.