China jails democracy activist for 13 years

Sep 2, 2009, 2:40 GMT

   Beijing - A court in southern China has sentenced a democracy activist to 13 years in prison after convicting him of subversion through organizing a political party, US-based Human Rights in China said Wednesday.

   The court in the Hunan provincial capital, Changsha, convicted Xie Changfa of 'subversion of state power' Tuesday after he helped to organize the Hunan Democracy Party as a local branch of the banned China Democracy Party, the rights group said.

   The group called the decision 'one of the most severe sentences of a dissident in several years,' while Xie's lawyer argued that organizing a political party was a right protected under China's constitution.

   After his arrest in June 2008, prosecutors accused Xie, 57, of illegally setting up the China Democracy Party and its Hunan branch and compiling articles 'with the intent to disseminate them in order to overturn state power and the socialist system.'

   Xie's brother, who attended the hearing with six of Xie's friends, plans to lodge an appeal on Xie's behalf, the rights group said.

   His brother, Xie Changzhen, told the group that Xie Changfa was handcuffed for 30 minutes during the sentencing and was not given an opportunity to speak.

   Human Rights in China urged the international community to 'pay close attention to such cases, in which severe criminal sanctions are imposed on individuals exercising fundamental rights and freedoms protected by Chinese and international law.'

   'This is yet another case of the Chinese authorities trampling on rights protected under the Chinese constitution,' the group said.

   China's ruling Communist Party launched economic reforms 30 years ago, leading to rapid growth, but it continues to suppress all forms of political opposition.

   Courts have jailed dozens of other activists with ties to the China Democracy Party, including at least 25 after the 1989 democracy movement, though many have since been released.

   In June, the government charged dissident writer Liu Xiaobo with subversion after he organized the 'Charter '08' for democratic reform, which has been signed by hundreds of writers, scholars, lawyers and rights advocates.

   Police have detained or interrogated dozens more signatories since Charter '08 was launched in November.