Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The People's Court of Suining (Sichuan) yesterday condemned the activist Liu Xianbin to 10 years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power".  He had written articles calling for democratic reforms on the internet. The ruling confirms the harsh persecution carried out by Beijing authorities against dissidents and democratic activists, spurred on by fear of the Jasmine Revolution.

Liu was also deprived of political rights for 2 years and 4 months, which means that, once he has served his sentence, he may not vote, give interviews, make speeches or publish writings for the specified period.

Chen Mingxian, Liu's wife, told Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) that the court accused her husband of "inciting to subvert the rule of the Communist Party."

In fact Liu has published several articles on the Internet in February 2010 calling for greater democracy, writing that " protests are key to democratic movements, they are an inevitable stage of the evolution of a democratic society." He also defended the Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo, co-author of Charter 08 who was sentenced to 11 years in prison, and Tan Zuoren, sentenced to 5 years for having revealed the death of thousands of schoolchildren in the Sichuan earthquake of 2008.

These words caused particular alarm in the courts, with the authorities alert to preventing any protests, fearful that Chinese -style jasmine revolution could break out.

Liu, 42, co-founder of the China Democracy Party, was convicted in 1999 for subversion against the state. Released in November 2008, he was again in prison after 19 months because of his Internet writings (see the AsiaNews 07/07/2010, Threats and arrests for Chinese dissidents: "inciting to subvert state power").

Wang Songlian of CHRD explains that this "harsh sentence sends a tough warning to dissidents and activists," that any criticism of the Party and the government will be considered incitement to subversion.