The family and attorney heard the news, after the fact.
Chinese officials have secretly executed a demonstrator who took part in a massive protest in 2004 against a hydro-electric dam in the south-western province of Sichuan, lawyers and family members said yesterday.NOTE FROM JOHN: Then again, a lot of this case doesn't sound that different than what we do, now:
The group's defence lawyer, Ran Tong, said he had only found out about the verdicts on Monday, when he received the sentence sheet containing the sentences of all the defendants. "We were not able to defend our clients, and I strongly oppose the court not respecting the spirit of the law," he said.
The death sentence is carried out swiftly after conviction, generally by a bullet to the back of the head. China executes more people than any other country.
