A Chinese father whose son was made ill after drinking tainted baby milk and who set up a website to warn other parents about the problem has dropped plans to appeal against his two-and-a-half-year jail sentence for inciting public disorder, his former lawyer saidtoday.
Activist Zhao Lianhai has dismissed his lawyers in the case, his lawyer, Peng Jian, said. Peng said he was detained and questioned over the weekend by police, who urged him not to file appeal papers on behalf of the activist.
Zhao had previously said he would appeal against the Beijing court ruling, which found him guilty of inciting social disorder. He began a prison hunger strike in protest.
But Peng said Zhao informed him in a handwritten note that he no longer required legal representation. Prison authorities delivered the note and said Zhao was unwilling to meet his lawyer. They told Peng that Zhao had given up his hunger strike and was eating normally.
Peng said Zhao's family told him they supported Zhao's decision to drop the appeal.
Six children died in 2008 from drinking baby milk contaminated with melamine, and hundreds of thousands were made ill, including Zhao's young son. Melamine, which can cause kidney stones and kidney failure, was added to watered-down baby milk by farmers and dealers to increase profits and to show higher protein levels in tests.
Prosecutors said Zhao incited disorder by organising a gathering of affected parents at a restaurant, holding a protest banner in front of a court and a factory involved in the scandal, and giving media interviews in a public place.
Peng said he was detained over the weekend for about 48 hours by four police officers, who asked him to respect the court's verdict and to avoid making misleading statements to the media.
Xu Zhiyong, a legal scholar who helped Zhao and other parents compile compensation demands, said he believed Zhao dropped the appeal because he and his family were under intense pressure from authorities.
Zhao's conviction comes as Chinese authorities increase efforts to silence dissent. This year's Nobel peace prize recipient, writer Liu Xiaobo, is serving an 11-year prison sentence for subversion after he co-authored a call to reform China's one-party political system.