China sentences prominent rights lawyer to 2 years in prison

Flag of China (Pixabay photo)

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.

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.