A court in sentenced prominent to five years in prison, convicting her of state subversion, according to a group campaigning for her release and a copy of the court verdict.
Labor rights activist Wang Jianbing, who was also on trial with Huang, was sentenced to three years and six months by the Guangdong Intermediate People’s Court.
Huang, an independent journalist, reportedly plans to appeal her sentence. It is not clear whether Wang would also appeal his sentence.
“[The sentence] was longer than we expected,” a spokesperson for the campaign group Free Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing said on the condition of anonymity.
“I don’t think it should have been this severe, and it is completely unnecessary. We support Huang Xueqin’s intention to appeal,” he told Reuters news agency.
Why were Huang and Wang arrested?
Supporters lost contact with the two activists in September 2021, and they were formally arrested a month later.
The two were then detained in Guangzhou province, and their closed-door trial did not begin until 2023.
Huang, who and the 2019 anti-government protests, was also arrested in 2019.
Both Huang and Wang faced charges of sedition following gatherings they held for Chinese youth where they exchanged views on social issues.
Throughout their detention and trial, both maintained their innocence.
The Chinese government often uses the charge of “inciting subversion of state power” against dissidents. The charge carries a maximum prison term of five years but can be extended based on the severity of acts.
mfi/sms (Reuters, dpa, AFP)
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