Guangzhou (AsiaNews/RFA): Singer-songwriter, Xu Lin, appeared in court, on public order charges in Guangdong on July 27 for writing and singing songs dedicated to late writer, human rights advocate and Nobel Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo, who was let out of incarceration on medical parole shortly before he died from liver cancer on 13 July 2017.
 
Xu’s wife, Wang, said she was prevented from attending the trial and had to watch a live video feed in a separate room. The singer’s friends were not allowed to come near the courthouse.
 
Dissidents expect a harsh sentence, unless Xu confesses his faults.
 
According to Amnesty International, Xu Lin was tortured and mistreated. Arrested on 2 November 2017 for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and he was investigated by police and prosecutors.
 
While in Nansha Prison in Guangzhou, he was admitted to hospital. It is thought that he was beaten or tortured in to push him into a forced video confession.
 
Police have since detained a number of activists who staged memorials in Liu’s honour.