Chinese dissident writer sentenced to 12 years

Chinese dissident writer sentenced to 12 years

Veteran Chinese dissident writer was sentenced to 12 years in prison Tuesday on subversion charges, the man's lawyer said.

Yang Tianshui was found guilty after a half-day closed-door trial in the eastern city of Zhenjiang, lawyer Li Jianqiang said.

Li said evidence presented against Yang had been declared secret and declined give details.

However, he said the government lawyer had sought to prove Yang acted in collusion with "hostile overseas forces", a charge often linked to sending information to overseas human rights groups or posting essays on Web sites hosted abroad.

"We think Yang is innocent and should be released immediately," Li said in a telephone interview. "I regret this result deeply,"reports the AP.

I.L.