Chinese activist sentenced to 6 years in jail
A court in southern China sentenced a leading activist who organized rallies for media freedom to six years in prison Friday in what his lawyer described as an unfair trial with an extra criminal charge added at the last minute.
Lawyer Li Jinxing said a district court in the city of Guangzhou found Yang Maodong guilty of disturbing public order. It also convicted him of provoking troubles, a charge Li said was announced minutes before the trial and which added to the stiff sentence.
Yang -- better known by his penname Guo Feixiong --helped organize demonstrations and spoke in support of the editorial staff at the newspaper Southern Weekly in Guangzhou in January 2013, after its journalists complained of censorship. Journalists said the paper's New Year's message calling for stricter adherence to China's constitution was altered under orders of censors.
