Beijing lawyer Li Zhuang yesterday pleaded "not guilty" in a local court to charges of instructing his client - an alleged crime boss - to lie that he had been tortured by police for a confession.

The accusations against the lawyer, amid Chongqing's massive operation to rid the city of organized crime, has fomented nationwide debate on defense attorneys' rights and the functioning of the judicial system.

Li, 48, is also accused of fabricating evidence and interfering with others' testimony - crimes which can draw him three to seven years in jail.

Li was arrested after his client, alleged local gang boss Gong Gangmo, told police that Li instructed him to lie that he had been tortured by police for eight days to extract a confession -- a move meant to help revoke Gong's confession.

Before the trial started, Li submitted a written application asking for his trial to be held outside Chongqing and asked all judges and prosecutors involved to excuse themselves.

"The police and the procuratorate in Chongqing who worked on Gong's case are the very ones who are investigating this case and are thus stakeholders in the trial", he said.

The Jiangbei district court rejected his application, saying the alleged crime took place in Jiangbei, which is in its jurisdiction, and State law does not include such provisions for withdrawal of judges and prosecutors.

According to the indictment, Li abetted Gong in fabricating evidence of torture, and instructed him on how to extricate himself from trial.

The indictment also said Li instructed Gong's wife and four employees of Gong's company to give false testimony; and directed another lawyer, Wu Jiayou, to bribe police to strengthen the torture testimony.

During yesterday's trial, Li stood firm, claiming the accusations "were created out of nothing", often joined his defense attorneys to point out what he said were flaws in the trial process, and argued that the rights of lawyers were not being protected.

"In the three meetings I had with Gong in the presence of police, he showed me wounds on his wrist and told me face to face that he had been strung up by police for eight days leading to incontinence," Li told the court.

"I firmly believe Gong was tortured though I don't exclude the possibility that Gong lied to me," he added.

A report on Gong's condition by Chongqing's forensic authority said Gong had bruises or abrasions on his wrists caused by a blunt instrument.