Chinese democracy activist Li Tie has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for subversion, becoming the third dissident to be put behind bars in less than a month, a relative said.
His sentence comes at a sensitive time in China, where the government is nervous about the one-year anniversary of online calls for Arab-style protests in China and a major leadership transition that takes place in the autumn.
According to the Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), Li's sentence revolves around articles he wrote criticising the government and his participation in discussions hosted on "reactionary" websites.
He was sentenced on Wednesday in the central city of Wuhan, one of his relatives told AFP, asking not to be identified.
"Li's lawyer, surnamed Xia, has refused to give us a copy of the verdict. He was appointed by the court and we had never met him before the court hearing," the relative said.
"Li Tie says he wants to appeal, so we are looking for a new lawyer to help us."
The Wuhan Intermediate People's Court, which issued the sentence, refused to comment when contacted by AFP.
CHRD said Li's family had originally hired rights lawyer Jin Guanghong, but he was never allowed to meet with his client and was taken away by authorities around 10 days before Li's April trial amid a wider crackdown on dissent.
Authorities appointed Xia to represent Li, who has written online articles promoting democracy, a constitutional government and direct local elections over the past decade, it added.
According to the group, prosecutors at Li's April trial argued his articles and speech demonstrated he had "anti-government thoughts", which could lead to anti-government actions and subversion.
Rights groups say subversion charges in China are often used to jail government critics. Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was convicted on the same charge in 2009 and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Longtime dissidents Chen Wei and Chen Xi were also jailed for nine and 10 years respectively at the end of December for subversion, and veteran activist Zhu Yufu has just been charged with the same crime.
"The Communist Party is punishing veteran activists one by one in a relentless campaign to silence people it deems a threat to its grip on power," Sarah Schafer, a researcher at Amnesty International, told AFP.
"We think this steady tightening is related to the leadership transition but also to the Arab Spring, and we do not think it will end soon."
China jails 3rd activist in a month for subversion
Chinese democracy activist Li Tie has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for subversion, becoming the third dissident to be put behind bars in less than a month, a relative said.
His sentence comes at a sensitive time in China, where the government is nervous about the one-year anniversary of online calls for Arab-style protests in China and a major leadership transition that takes place in the autumn.
According to the Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), Li's sentence revolves around articles he wrote criticising the government and his participation in discussions hosted on "reactionary" websites.
He was sentenced on Wednesday in the central city of Wuhan, one of his relatives told AFP, asking not to be identified.
"Li's lawyer, surnamed Xia, has refused to give us a copy of the verdict. He was appointed by the court and we had never met him before the court hearing," the relative said.
"Li Tie says he wants to appeal, so we are looking for a new lawyer to help us."
The Wuhan Intermediate People's Court, which issued the sentence, refused to comment when contacted by AFP.
CHRD said Li's family had originally hired rights lawyer Jin Guanghong, but he was never allowed to meet with his client and was taken away by authorities around 10 days before Li's April trial amid a wider crackdown on dissent.
Authorities appointed Xia to represent Li, who has written online articles promoting democracy, a constitutional government and direct local elections over the past decade, it added.
According to the group, prosecutors at Li's April trial argued his articles and speech demonstrated he had "anti-government thoughts", which could lead to anti-government actions and subversion.
Rights groups say subversion charges in China are often used to jail government critics. Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was convicted on the same charge in 2009 and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Longtime dissidents Chen Wei and Chen Xi were also jailed for nine and 10 years respectively at the end of December for subversion, and veteran activist Zhu Yufu has just been charged with the same crime.
"The Communist Party is punishing veteran activists one by one in a relentless campaign to silence people it deems a threat to its grip on power," Sarah Schafer, a researcher at Amnesty International, told AFP.
"We think this steady tightening is related to the leadership transition but also to the Arab Spring, and we do not think it will end soon."
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