A prominent Chinese labour activist was sentenced Friday to four and a half years in prison for "inciting subversion" through a written account of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, his lawyer told AFP.

Liu Shaoming, a former factory worker, was detained in southern Guangdong province in May 2015 after describing his involvement in the pro-democracy movement on a US website.

Liu's lawyer, Wu Kuiming, told AFP the verdict was announced by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court.

"His crime is 'inciting subversion of state power,'" Wu said. "The evidence is some online articles he wrote to recall the June 4 event."

Wu said they will appeal the court decision.

Several Chinese rights advocates have been jailed for trying to keep alive the memory of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement that was crushed by the military.

Hundreds of civilians -- over 1,000 by some estimates -- are believed to have died in the crackdown.

Liu, who was featured earlier this year in the documentary "We the Workers," travelled to Beijing to join the student-led demonstrations.

According to Amnesty International, he was also a member of China's first independent trade union.

"This is a most callous and unjust verdict against Liu Shaoming," William Nee, China researcher at Amnesty International, said in a statement.

"He is a prisoner of conscience and must be immediately and unconditionally released. All that Liu Shaoming is guilty of is the legitimate exercise of his freedom of expression."

Tweet

Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo's health deteriorates
Beijing (AFP) July 6, 2017
Fears about the health of China's cancer-stricken Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo rose on Thursday as the hospital treating him said the liver function of the country's most prominent democracy advocate had deteriorated. Friends voiced concerns that Liu, 61, is now near death after it emerged last month that he had been transferred from prison to a hospital under medical parole due to terminal liv ... read more

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only