Dharamshala, Aug. 19 -- The son of imprisoned Chinese pro-democracy activist Zhang Yi has questioned the legal basis of the "inciting separatism" charge brought against his father, saying he cannot understand how showing a photograph of Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama could be treated as a political offence.

As cited by Phayul in a report, Zhang Yi's son, Zhang Hongyuan, raised the concerns in testimony submitted to New York-based human rights organisation Human Rights in China (HRIC). He said his father's arrest was the culmination of a long-standing fear he had carried since leaving China. Zhang Hongyuan currently lives in the Netherlands.

According to the Phayul report, Zhang Yi, a retired resident of Wuhan,...