Human Rights Activist Convicted In China

A Chinese court took less than six hours today to convict China’s leading dissident, Wei Jingsheng, of sedition and sentence him to 14 years in prison.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency reported the conviction and sentence in a two-paragraph report that gave no further details.

Wei came to prominence in 1979 for powerful essays about democracy and human rights during a short-lived pro-democracy movement. Wei, an outspoken advocate of democracy and human rights, had faced a minimum of 10 years in jail and possible execution if convicted.

Wei’s brother and sister, Wei Xiaotong and Wei Ling, have obtained court permission to attend the trial, a friend of the family said Tuesday.

Wei was the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize nominee and an outspoken advocate of democracy and human rights in China.