BEIJING—A Buddhist Chinese dissident outspoken on Tibet and other sensitive topics was jailed for three-and-a-half years on Thursday, a conviction likely to become a focus of rights campaigns ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
Hu Jia, 34, was found guilty of "inciting subversion of state power" for criticising the ruling Communist Party, a verdict that drew quick condemnation from the United States, Britain and the United Nations.
"There is no doubt that this is a decision that is deeply disturbing to us and we are communicating that to the Chinese authorities," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a news conference at a NATO summit in Bucharest.
The communist-controlled Xinhua news agency said Hu had made a "confession of crime and acceptance of punishment", leading the court to issue a relatively light sentence. Hu's lawyers said he had acknowledged "excesses".
"In the end, I think that he came to accept that some of his statements were contrary to the law as it stands," said defence lawyer Li Jinsong. Hu has 10 days starting on Friday to decide whether to appeal, but Li said he was unlikely to do so.
The "inciting subversion" charge can attract a jail term of five years or longer, and before the hearing Hu's other lawyer, Li Fangping, said a long sentence was likely.
After the sentencing he denounced it as nonetheless unjust.
"It's the defence position that citizens have the right to free speech," Li Fangping told reporters outside the court.
"The law on inciting subversion of state power doesn't have a clear boundary, but the Constitution guarantees citizens freedom of speech."
Gao Zhisheng
China's Foreign Ministry defended the verdict and said critics were meddling in the country's internal affairs.
Another Chinese dissident, Yang Chunlin, who called for human rights to take precedence over the Olympic Games, was sentenced to five years in jail in March for the same crime.
The court heard that from Aug. 2006 to Oct. 2007, Hu posted articles on overseas-run Web sites, made comments to foreign media and "repeatedly instigated other people to subvert the state's political power and socialist system", Xinhua said.
for Speaking the Truth
Hu Jia addressed, via telephone, the November 2007 session of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights, discussing the Olympics, persecuted human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, and the deteriorating human rights situation inside communist China as the Olympic Games approach.
It is likely that the Chinese Communist Party is treating Hu with particular harshness for daring to speak to government officials outside of mainland China, and to criticize the Chinese regime publicly in international forums.
Please read:
Chinese Reformers Address European Parliament Press Conference
and
Chinese Rights Activist Talks With EU Parliament
for detailed reporting of his statements.
Dozens of Well-Wishers
Dozens of well-wishers gathered outside the court to express support for Hu and air their own grievances, milling around with foreign reporters and diplomats who were kept out of the court.
"Hu Jia is a hero to us because he stood up to speak out, so we should also speak out," said one of the supporters, Li Hai.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour voiced concern at Hu's conviction.
"We continue to be concerned about a number of cases including Hu Jia, in which it seems national security issues are being used as grounds to curtail social activism by human rights defenders," said her spokesman Rupert Colville.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Hu's jailing was "a most concerning development".
"It undermines the right to freedom of expression enshrined in international human rights conventions as well as China's own Constitution," Miliband said, adding he was concerned at reports of Hu's medical condition.
Mark Allison of Amnesty International said: "This verdict is a slap in the face for Hu Jia and a warning to any other activists in China who dare to raise human rights concerns publicly."
Starting with advocacy for rural AIDS sufferers, Hu emerged as one of the nation's most vocal advocates of democratic rights, religious freedom and self-determination for Tibet, recently shaken by protests and a security crackdown.
Rice and Miliband raised Hu's case during visits to Beijing in February, and the European Union and other Western governments have also pressed China on the matter.
Hu's relatively rapid trial suggested authorities wanted to get it out of the way well before the Beijing Olympics in August, said Joshua Rosenzweig of the Duihua Foundation, a San Francisco-based group that works to free Chinese political prisoners.
Hu was detained in late December after spending more than 200 days under house arrest in a Beijing apartment complex.
His wife, Zeng Jinyan, who has also often criticised the Chinese government, and their infant daughter remain under house arrest and their telephone is cut off.
She attended the hearing, emerging from the courthouse visibly upset before being whisked away in a police vehicle.
State security criminal cases, such as Hu's, have been rising, with 742 last year, John Kamm of the Duihua Foundation told reporters in Beijing.
Feeds