Lawyer gets 7 years for subversion

Head of Beijing law firm pleads guilty at trial; won't appeal

Attorneys should abide more strictly by the law and not use cases to harm the country, judicial specialists said after lawyer Zhou Shifeng was sentenced to seven years in prison on Thursday after being found guilty of subverting State power.

Zhou, 52, a native of Anyang, Henan province, had been director of Beijing Fengrui Law Firm. He was sentenced after being found guilty of using his firm to spread subversive thoughts and create social conflicts to damage national security, the Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court said in its verdict on Thursday.