Activist Gou Hongguo sentenced for subversion

Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced activist Gou Hongguo to three years in prison with a three-year reprieve for subverting State power on Friday.

Gou pleaded guilty during the trial and said after the verdict announcement: "I accept the result and will not appeal to a higher court."

The trial is part of a series of high-profile cases involving lawyers and activists who are accused of spreading subversive thought and creating domestic conflict.

The verdict said that Gou was influenced by anti-China forces and went abroad to be trained in subversion after meeting Hu Shigen, the leader of an illegal organization, in 2013.

Gou provided money for Hu, lawyer Zhou Shifeng and activist Zhai Yanmin to organize protests and participated in discussions on spreading subversive thought, the verdict said.

Zhai, Hu and Zhou faced the same charges and were sentenced by the court earlier this week.