China urged to release activist

Beijing, July 12: Human rights groups on Thursday urged Chinese authorities to release a veteran activist, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison for subversion of state power, and also asked the UN to intervene. “Qin Yongmin’s only ‘crime’ was to organise a human rights monitoring group to peacefully push for reform in China,” said Sophie Richardson, China Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW). On Wednesday, the Wuhan City Intermediate People’s Court in Hubei province found the 64-year-old activist guilty of “subversion of state power”, a charge frequently levelled against Chinese dissidents, and he was handed 13 years in prison. (IANS)