China gives rights lawyer suspended sentence

BEIJING, Dec 22 (Reuters) In a rare display of official tolerance, outspoken Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was sentenced to three years in prison for subversion but execution of his sentence was suspended, meaning he could walk free.

Gao was given a five-year reprieve, the official Xinhua news agency said today, meaning he does not have to serve his sentence unless he commits another crime over the next five years.

It was unclear why he was given a relatively lenient sentence.

But he was also deprived of his political rights for one year, which would prevent him from speaking to reporters and might mean he could be kept under house arrest or surveillance. China secretly tried Gao in Beijing this month on a charge of inciting subversion of state power, drawing condemnation from dissidents.

The hearing excluded Gao's chosen lawyers, Mo Shaoping and Ding Xikui, who have not been allowed to visit him.

In China, ''inciting subversion'' covers acts such as publishing statements critical of the ruling Communist Party.

It is a charge that usually brings a jail term of less than five years, but longer in serious cases, Fan Yafeng, a Beijing legal expert who knows Gao, has said.

Gao was detained by Beijing police in August, after months of escalating confrontation with authorities -- he is one of several activists held or jailed in a crackdown on campaigners seeking to use legal activism to expand citizens' rights.

His wife, Geng He, and other relatives have faced police harassment and house arrest, supporters say.

REUTERS MS RK1055