Activist Chen Xi jailed 10 years

26-12-2011

Chen Xi in an undated handout photo released by his family.
A veteran Mainland activist has been jailed for 10 years for inciting subversion. Chen Xi is the second dissident to be given a stiff prison sentence over the past week.

His wife, Zhang Qunxuan, said her husband was found guilty at a court in Guiyang, of subverting state power, for 36 essays he wrote and posted on overseas Chinese websites. She said Mr Chen maintained his innocence, but will not appeal the verdict, as the court had ignored all the points raised by the defence lawyer at the trial, making an appeal pointless.

Ms Zhang said the judge had noted that Chen Xi was a repeat offender, and that his had been a major crime with a malign impact. Mr Chen had earlier been jailed for his role in the 1989 pro-democracy protests, and on seperate charges of counterrevolutionary offences. The long sentence comes days after another dissident -- Chen Wei from Sichuan province -- was jailed for nine years on similar charges of "inciting subversion" in a crackdown aimed at preventing Arab Spring-style uprisings.


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