Mo Huanjian. Photo: Sina

Beijing (People's Daily) - Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court responded to a complaint filed by the former defense attorney from the high-profile Hangzhou nanny arson case claiming was illegally removed from the case and replaced by another lawyer.

Dang Linshan, the defendant’s first lawyer, posted on his Weibo account Monday that he had been replaced by methods not in accordance with legal courtroom procedures.

The defendant, Mo Huanjian, is alleged to have started a fire last summer that killed her employer, Zhu Xiaozhen, and three children, aged 6, 8 and 11.

According to the Hangzhou court, Dang quit on December 21 after asking the judge on four occasions to stop hearing the case and wait until the Supreme People’s Court responded to a request to move the trial out of Hangzhou.

The court ruled that Dang’s actions in December represented a refusal to defend his client. Mo was given 15 days to find new representation.

Dang’s Weibo statement claimed the Hangzhou court imposed new attorneys upon Mo when she already had a defense team in place, calling the move, “blatantly against the law.”