Jailing of Chinese Rights Lawyer Wang Quanzhang Sparks Public Outcry

International rights groups, lawyers' associations and democratic parties have hit out at China's jailing of human rights attorney WangQuanzhang, calling for his immediate acquittal and release. Wang was handed a four-and-a-half year jail term onMonday by the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, which found him guilty of"subversion of state power."

The verdict and sentence followed repeated delays resulting in Wangbeing held in pretrial detention of more than three years, with noaccess to a lawyer or family visits. "We strongly condemn the conviction and sentence on lawyer WangQuanzhang by the Court," the Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group (CHRLCG) said in a statement co-signed by 30 organizations around the world, including the Geneva Bar Association and The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales.

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