A design firm linked to Ai Weiwei on Thursday challenged charges of massive tax evasion at a hearing the dissident Chinese artist was barred from attending, the company's lawyer said.

Ai, an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party, was released on bail last month after spending nearly three months in detention for "economic crimes" and later accused of tax evasion.

Police charged Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd., a company they said was "controlled" by Ai, with evading "a huge amount of taxes" and intentionally destroying accounting documents.

Company lawyer Pu Zhiqiang said Beijing Fake Cultural Development, which denies the charges, belonged to Ai's wife Lu Qing and that she would represent it at Thursday's hearing.

"The company is not Ai Weiwei's. It is his wife's company," he told AFP, adding that police had refused to hand back seized financial records the firm needed to defend itself at the hearing.

"The public prosecutor was preparing to punish Fake, but we applied for a hearing, which is our right," said Pu.

"Before the hearing started we did not get the financial records taken by police. This is not appropriate.

"We demand the return of the company's financial records... If we don't see them we can't mount a proper defence. This is affecting the fairness (of the hearing)."

Pu, who said he did not know how much tax the company was accused of evading, also criticised authorities for holding a closed hearing into the high-profile case.

"It should be open to the public but it is not. That it is not open to the public will damage the fairness and procedural legitimacy (of the case)," he said.

Ai, one of China's most prominent artists, was detained by police on April 3 during the government's biggest crackdown on dissidents and activists in years.

He was released on bail last month because he showed a "good attitude in confessing his crimes" and on medical grounds, authorities said at the time.

He also "expressed his willingness for several times to repay the taxes he owes", state media reported, citing the police.

The detention of the outspoken 54-year-old had been loudly condemned internationally, with the United States and European Union calling for his release.

earlier related report
Ai Weiwei accepts post at German university
Beijing (AFP) July 14, 2011 - Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei said Thursday he had accepted a job at an art university in Germany, as he battles charges of massive tax evasion after nearly three months in police detention.

The 54-year-old -- an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party whose detention sparked an international outcry -- told AFP he was "very happy" about his new position at the Berlin University of the Arts.

"I hope to be able to contribute something important in the future," Ai said, adding however it was "not clear" when he would be able to leave China and go to Berlin.

The avant-garde artist, whose work was recently on display at London's Tate Modern gallery, was detained in April during a major government crackdown on dissidents in China.

The Berlin university offered Ai the teaching position soon after his detention, saying it "stood for the freedom of the arts and therefore for the freedom of artists."

Ai was only released on bail last month, and Chinese authorities have charged Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd., a design firm they say is "controlled" by Ai, with evading "a huge amount of taxes."

But lawyers for the firm say they do not accept the charges, as they have yet to see any of the original financial records that police seized from the company's office and are now using as evidence.

Ai's wife Lu Qing -- the firm's legal representative -- insists her husband has no legal responsibility for Fake. She attended a hearing on Thursday to try and get hold of the financial records.

"The evidence they brought was all copies of originals. We never saw the original documents," she said, adding the lawyers needed these before they could mount a proper defence against the charges.

Liu Xiaoyuan, Ai's close friend, told AFP last month that the Beijing tax office wanted the renowned artist to pay back 4.9 million yuan in taxes and another 7.3 million yuan in fines.

That would amount to more than 12 million yuan, or about $1.9 million. But Lu said she was unclear about the exact amount involved.

A spokeswoman for the Beijing Local Taxation Bureau told AFP she was unable to provide any information about the hearing as it was closed to the public.

Ai's outspoken criticism of China's leaders and involvement in controversial social campaigns -- such as a citizens' probe into school collapses in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake -- have long made him a thorn in the government's side.

In January, his newly built Shanghai studio was torn down in apparent retaliation for his criticism of city policies, and he was blocked from leaving China in December ahead of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for jailed Chinese dissident writer Liu Xiaobo.

Ai already has strong ties to Germany. In March, shortly before his detention, he announced plans to set up a studio in Berlin to showcase his work.

He also underwent surgery in Germany after he said he was beaten by police in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan to prevent him from testifying on behalf of activist Tan Zuoren, who also investigated school collapses.

But since his release, the normally outspoken Ai has refused to talk to the media about his detention.