One of China’s most prominent lawyers is due in court on Monday in a case that illustrates the dramatic fall in government tolerance of rights activists since President Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012.

Pu Zhiqiang, 50, faces charges of inciting ethnic hatred and disrupting public order in a trial that coincides with what labour activists have called an “unprecedented” crackdown on worker rights groups in southern Guangdong province.

According to the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, 25 staff from four labour non-governmental organisations have been detained during the sweep. Of these, at least four face formal charges for disturbing public order including Zeng Feiyang, who runs a well-known labour NGO in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong.