Authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu on Monday began the trial of six members of a demolition gang for beating up the family of a retired People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier who killed two of their number, but refused to allow the alleged victims to appear in court, lawyers said.
The six stand accused at the Huqiu District People's Court of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble" after they arrived at the home of Fan Mugen and his wife in Jiangsu's provincial capital Suzhou in late 2013.
Fan will himself stand trial on Wednesday for "intentional wounding" in connection with the deaths of two members of the eviction team after they started beating up his wife on Dec. 3, 2013, his lawyers told RFA.
But Fan's lawyer Wang Yu told RFA that the authorities on Monday prevented Fan, his wife, and their legal team from appearing in court as witnesses during the trial of the six eviction gang members.
"The trial takes place today, but...[none of us] is allowed to appear in court," Wang said. "They have set up a security cordon around the court manned by police, who are refusing to allow either the victims or their lawyers to go in."
"This isn't a public trial...[and] the views of the victims aren't being heard in court," she said, adding that she planned to file a complaint with the state prosecution service on Monday.'
'Going through the motions'
Fan's son Fan Yongmei said the trial of the eviction gang members was just a matter of going through the motions.
"If my father isn't able to appear in court, then there are many things he won't be able to confirm; they will only be able to decide [the case] on the basis of what the accused say," he said.
"They have dispensed with due process entirely; this is nothing but a show."
Meanwhile, Fan's wife Gu Panzhen was detained by police after she tried to attend the trial, her son said.
Police also detained a number of rights activists and fellow evictees after some 120 supporters converged on the court buildings on Monday, he said.
Fan's case is politically sensitive, as it comes amid simmering public anger over the use of violent forced evictions, often with no warning or due process, by local governments to reclaim land for redevelopment.
Support from netizens
Fan Mugen's case has received scant coverage in local media, which is tightly controlled by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, but comments to a post on the Tianya forum were largely supportive of Fan.
"Only the officials can start a fire; ordinary people can't even switch on the light," Tianya user @dayuruozhidai commented on a post detailing Fan's story on Monday.
User @duizhigongshe said Fan was likely "at his wits' end" when he carried out the attack.
"When the little guy is subjected to the violation of his rights by those in power, what is he supposed to do?"
And user @fangcaohechuwutianya wrote: "The officials leave the people with no option but to rebel."
The requisitioning of rural land for lucrative property deals by cash-hungry local governments triggers thousands of "mass incidents" across China every year, as well as frequent suicide protests by those forcibly evicted from their homes, rights groups say.
Many evictions result in the beating, further harassment, and detention of anyone who resists or complains, while the government's complaints system is overwhelmed by applications from evictees for redress, official figures show.
Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wen Yuqing for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.