Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Hidden Message in a Confession

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Can one man outwit a Kafkaesque system? Attorney Li Zhuang was prosecuted for instigating false testimony and obstruction of justice as a defense attorney of a gangster in 2009. The case was widely seen as a way to intimidate all criminal defense attorneys in China. Mr. Li was convicted in the first trial after engaging in a shouting match in court. In a blog entry written in December 2011, he remembered that his prosecutors told him even before his arrest that “the leadership of the police, the prosecutors and the courts had a meeting and made the decision that we must convict you just based on your attitude! If you are not sent to prison, our police won’t stand for it! The powerful state apparatus is in motion and can ground anyone into fine powder. Remember, in China, there is no confession that the police can’t get, but if you have the right attitude, we can take it easy on you...”

Mr. Li appealed his conviction but, to everyone’s surprise, made a confession at his second trial. The prosecutors eagerly claimed victory and overlooked the secret message in his confession, written in trite, dry language laced with Communist jargons. The first and last characters of each paragraph formed the sentences, with the help of some homonyms: “Forced to Confess for Probation. Will Appeal When I’m Out.” In his recent blog entry, Mr. Li explained that he was not tortured by the police but he needed to get out of custody to retrieve some key evidence of his innocence, which he feared might have been destroyed (and his fears were later confirmed).

Mr. Li’s blog entry on December 23 gave a behind-the-scene look at his case and renewed the discussions in the blogosphere, especially among the legal community. The most retweeted quote is allegedly from a sympathetic judge who was part of the panel presiding over the case: “When the sun rises, I will tell you everything that happened during the night.”