CRI听力:Fresh Details Reveal Lawyers' Misconduct outside Court

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Public Security, the nine lawyers, and several other staff members, who have been charged are employed by the Beijing-based Fengrui Law Firm.

They were detained earlier this month for organizing protests outside courts to help get favorable verdicts for clients.

Zhou Shifeng, director of the firm, is in police custody and has pleaded guilty.

"We hired non-professional lawyers and former politicians in order to get more publicity and make the firm famous. Some of them did break the law or even committed crimes when they were dealing with specific cases."

Xinhua has reported that many of the suspects have admitted to hyping up ordinary legal issues as human rights cases to get international attention.

Police say since 2012, Zhou's group has orchestrated more than 40 controversial court incidents.

Video from a court hearing in April in the northeastern city of Shenyang showed several defense lawyers shouting and screaming shortly after a trial opened, despite calls for order from the judge.

Police were also targeted, with Fengrui lawyer Wang Yu pointing fingers at court police and calling them "hooligans."

Zhai Yanmin is one of the suspects who were allegedly paid by Fengrui to organize "human rights" demonstrations.

According to him, making a scene and then being forced out of court was the group's usual tactic, attempting to paint themselves as victims, induce sympathy, and hype cases among the public.

"Several times I saw Wang raising a row with court workers and forced out of court. When she was outside the court, she actively interacted with protesters there and joined them in holding up protest signs and shouting slogans. I guess she was trying to create pressure and sway court decisions by all means."

Saturday's statement also revealed evidence pointing to possible tax evasion and bribing of officials in order to win cases.

The news has triggered wide reaction inside legal circle here in China, with many condemning such behaviors.

He Yong is a senior official with the Ministry of Justice.

"Lawyers are supposed to help push forward the rule of law, contribute to rule of law in our country, and set an example in respecting, observing, and applying the law. Acts of a minority of lawyers have gone far beyond ethics and legal limits."

During an interview with Xinhua, Wang Jinxi, a law professor with China University of Political Science and Law, said “being a lawyer does not mean they can break the law, and no country allows people to carry out criminal activities just because they are lawyers."

For CRI, this is Wang Mengzhen.