A Chinese dissident outspoken on Tibet was jailed for three-and-a-half years today.
A Beijing court found Hu Jia (34) guilty of "inciting subversion of state power" for criticising the ruling Communist Party.
Hu had initially pleaded not guilty, but the official Xinhua news agency said he had made a "confession of crime and acceptance of punishment", leading the court to issue a relatively light sentence. Hu's two lawyers said he had acknowledged "excesses".
Foreign reporters and diplomats were excluded from Hu's hearing. His conviction is likely to become a focus of international rights campaigns ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
Starting with advocacy for rural Aids sufferers, Hu emerged as one of the nation's most vocal advocates of democratic rights, religious freedom and self-determination for Tibet, which has recently been shaken by protests and a security crackdown.
He was detained by police in late December after spending more than 200 days under house arrest in a Beijing apartment complex.
Another Chinese dissident, Yang Chunlin, who called for human rights to take precedence over the Olympic Games, was sentenced to five years in jail in late March.