BEIJING, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A Chinese court will try a rights campaigner in the nation's southwest for "illegal possession of state secrets" after he gave help to parents of children killed in last year's devastating earthquake, his wife said.

Huang Qi, 45, was detained in quake-hit Sichuan province last June and on Monday a court in the provincial capital Chengdu told his wife Zeng Li he would be tried on the secrets charge on Tuesday, she said by telephone.

"They didn't say what specifically he was accused of and they have not allowed him or the lawyers to see any documents or evidence," Zeng said.

She added that state authorities appeared determined to try Huang because he offered to help parents who lost children in the May 12 earthquake, in which about 80,000 people died, many under collapsed schools.

Sichuan authorities have sought to silence protests and collective grieving by parents claiming shoddy building and lax safety checks contributed to the school collapses and whose complaints initially drew widespread domestic media attention.

"It was because of the earthquake and putting out statements on behalf of the families and helping them with advice," Zeng said, added she did not know if she would be allowed to attend the trial. Mo Shaoping, one of Huang's lawyers, said he first learnt of the court's decision via Zeng and said he had called the court to complain that the lack of forewarning was highly irregular.

Mo said Huang had nominated him and a colleague as his defence attorneys and they should have been formally notified by the court of the charges and trial start date.

Huang's lawyers would now seek to persuade the court not to hold the hearing on Tuesday, Mo said, adding that that seemed unlikely to succeed.

"This is a serious violation of Huang Qi's right to a defence," Mo told Reuters.

Mo added that he could not confirm that he was going on trial for the state secrets charge as he had not received a writ.

Human rights groups have said vague state secrets and subversion charges are often used to silence dissidents.

Huang has run his own Tianwang Human Rights Centre and a Web site (http://www.64tianwang.com) critical of the Communist Party's restrictions on political rights.

He was convicted in 2003 of "inciting subversion of state power" and released from jail in 2005. (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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