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Beijing: A Buddhist Chinese dissident outspoken on Tibet and other sensitive topics was jailed for three-and-a-half years yesterday, a conviction likely to become a focus of international 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 at which the United States expressed dismay.
"In this Olympic year, we urge China to seize the opportunity to put its best face forward and take steps to improve its record on human rights and religious freedom," the US Embassy said in a statement.
The 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 two 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's 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. Zeng attended the hearing, emerging with her baby from the courthouse visibly upset before being whisked away in a police vehicle.
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 late March for the same crime. Foreign media and diplomats were excluded from Hu's hearing.
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