Dissident jailed for online writings

A Chinese court jailed a dissident writer for four years on subversion charges for posting anti-government articles on the Internet, his disbarred lawyer said.

The Intermediate People’s Court in Hangzhou, capital of the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, convicted Chen Shuqing of “inciting to subvert state power,” Li Jianqiang said.

“He was only expressing his political views. He should enjoy free speech,” said the lawyer, whose license was not renewed in his home province of Shandong, on China’s east coast.

Li said he thinks he was barred from practicing because he took on “too many sensitive cases.”