ACTIVIST LAWYER RECEIVES 12 YEARS IN JAIL FOR FRAUD

A Chinese lawyer who defended activists and others involved in politically sensitive cases was sentenced to 12 years in prison Thursday on fraud charges, his lawyers said, in what is believed to be the harshest penalty handed down in years against those few willing to take on the Communist Party.

Xia Lin was sentenced Thursday, nearly two years after being detained, lawyer Ding Xikui said.

“We’ve been striving to defend his innocence,” Ding said. “Even one day in prison is too much.”

Xia’s sentence appeared to be the heaviest for a government critic since economist and Uighur minority rights advocate Ilham Tohti was sentenced in 2014 to life imprisonment on separatism charges.