A Chinese court has jailed two of the country’s most prominent human rights defenders for over a decade on subversion charges, according to the wife of one of them and a U.S.-based human rights group. The heavy sentencing drew strong condemnation and threw light on the high price paid by government critics perceived by the Chinese authorities for challenging its rule.
A court in Shandong province Monday sentenced Xu Zhiyong to 14 years in prison and Ding Jiaxi to 12 years. Both were convicted of the crime of “subversion of state power,” according to Ding’s wife, Sophie Luo Shengchun, and U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.
