Dissident’s Trial Set, His Mother Says

Chinese dissident Wang Dan, a leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests, will be tried next week on charges of trying to overthrow the government, his mother said. Wang Lingyun said officials at the Beijing Intermediate People’s Court told her that the trial will start Wednesday. Wang, 27, faces a minimum 10-year prison sentence--and possibly a death sentence--if convicted. Wang, who served four years in jail as a leader of the Tiananmen Square protests, was taken into custody again after he organized petitions calling for tolerance and freedom.