China sentences human rights lawyer to 2 years in prison

Beijing – A court in central China has sentenced a prominent human rights lawyer to two years in prison on the vague charge of inciting subversion of state power, the latest verdict to be handed down in a sweeping crackdown on activism.

The Intermediate People's Court in the city of Changsha handed down the verdict against activist Jiang Tianyong, who attended a hearing on Tuesday. The court announced the sentence on its official account on the Sina Weibo microblogging platform.

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Prosecutors had said during Jiang's trial in August that he had used social media to incite others to subvert state power.

Rights groups said the trial was a sham and that Jiang was caught as part of a campaign aimed at snuffing out any opposition to the ruling Communist Party.