Around a dozen people joined the brief protest at the beginning of the appeal trial for Yang Jia, 28, who was sentenced to death last month for the murders.

"We are just ordinary people concerned about Yang Jia's fate. We want to know the truth but they were shutting off all the access," said Liang Yin, one of the protesters.

She hid her T-shirt, with a picture of Yang's face printed on it, from police to avoid being taken into custody.

Yang stormed into a Shanghai police station on July 1 and went on a stabbing frenzy, reportedly in revenge for being wrongfully detained on suspicion of stealing a bicycle.

Yang has become an Internet cult hero because his case raised questions about police harassment, with some regarding him as a victim who stood up to the reportedly widespread abuse by authorities that many face daily.

Lawyer Zhai Jian, who was appointed by the court to defend Yang at the appeal, said his client's fate would largely depend on a new round of psychiatric assessments, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Yang told the court Monday he had come looking for an officer named Wu and brought a mask, a knife, gloves, a spraycan and gasoline in case he encountered obstacles, the Shanghai-based Xinmin Evening News reported on its website.

Three videos taken the day of the attack showed a masked man killing four policemen within seven seconds, the report said.

When asked about the killings shown in the video, Yang told the court: "I can't remember it," the report said.

His lawyer asked if he regretted his actions.

"I have no regrets," the report quoted Yang as saying.

In the street outside Shanghai's Higher People's Court as the appeal began, the protesters were taken away by police after donning the T-shirts with Yang's face and a quote from him reading: "If you don't give me a reason then I will teach you a lesson."

Huang Xuemin, a grey-haired protester, complained police beat her when she tried to enter the court premises.

"You see how police were treating us, and you could imagine how badly Yang Jia must be treated," she said, showing the assembled crowd scratches on her forearms that she said were from her scuffle with police.

Phone calls to the Shanghai police media office to request comment about the protest went unanswered on Monday.

Prosecutors said previously that Yang confessed to attacking the district police headquarters because he wanted revenge for being wrongfully detained overnight in October 2007 on suspicion of stealing a bicycle.

Last month's trial was criticised for the secretive way it was held, but the second trial appeared to be slightly more open, with select state media allowed to report on the ongoing proceedings.

However, many Chinese and international reporters were still not allowed onto the court premises and were forced to wait in the street under police supervision.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News