Confession
Pu had been detained since May 2014. He was officially arrested in June 2014 on charges of provoking trouble and "illegally obtaining citizens' personal information." Later, charges were added against him for instigating a split in the country, and for inciting ethnic hatred. But when he was tried on December 14, the charges were reduced to inciting ethnic hatred and provoking troubles.
Tuesday's CCTV report also showed Pu's written confession, in which he said, "I acknowledge the criminal facts presented by public prosecutors," and that "my behavior fanned ethnic hatred and provoked trouble."
"I am willing to accept the lawful punishment," Pu wrote.
The CCTV report said Pu admitted in court that, from his own experience, he "felt the improvement of the law as well as the progress in society."
Pu's lawyers previously believed that he could be sentenced to up to eight years in jail.
Stripped of practice
The verdict means Pu will no longer be able to practice law, Shang told the Global Times.
According to China's Law on Lawyers, people with a criminal record, unless the crime is involuntary, are banned from practicing law.
Pu must frequently report to authorities, and his behavior will be closely watched during the reprieve, Duan Wanjin, a Xi'an-based criminal lawyer, told the Global Times.
In 2012, Pu represented Ren Jianyu in a high-profile case wherein Ren, a village official, was sent to a re-education through labor camp for criticizing then-Chongqing Party boss Bo Xilai.
In 2013 Pu represented Tang Hui, a mother who also received re-education through labor for repeatedly petitioning for her teenage daughter who was raped and kept as a prostitute.
Both cases had raised considerable public attention on China's re-education through labor system. The practice was officially abolished in China in December 2013.
