People sit in a bus driving past the courthouse where prominent rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang is being tried in Tianjin, China December 26, 2018. "This is a sham trial in which Wang Quanzhang is being persecuted only for peacefully defending human rights," said Doriane Lau, China researcher at Amnesty International. Chinese President Xi Jinping has strengthened efforts to quash dissent since coming to power six years ago, with hundreds of rights lawyers and activists detained and dozens jailed. China often holds high-profile human rights trials over the Christmas holidays, which activists and diplomats say is an attempt to minimise international attention. China's legal authorities have disbarred over a dozen rights lawyers since a new set of rules with heightened political loyalty requirements for lawyers were introduced in 2016.

Source: Egypt Today December 26, 2018 08:48 UTC