Chinese human rights activist and blogger Wu Gan, known for using irony and humor in his campaigns, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power," according to the court in the northern city of Tianjin where the sentence was pronounced.
The sentence also condemned Wu to five years of deprivation of political rights.
Wu, 45, known by his online name 'Super Vulgar Butcher', was accused of "spreading false information on the internet, exaggerating controversial cases and attacking the regime," according to official Chinese media.
The activist was arrested in May 2015 while protesting in the southeastern city of Nanchang, denouncing the alleged torture of four innocent people forced into confessing to a crime and who were declared innocent a year later.
In August 2016, he was arrested again and said he had been tortured, while his family was threatened so that he confessed to committing certain crimes.
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The 'Super Vulgar Butcher', formerly a soldier and security guard, began his activism a decade ago.
The crime of subversion against the State power is frequently attributed to dissidents and prisoners of conscience. Writer and Nobel Peace laureate, Liu Xiaobo, who died in July, was handed an 11-year prison sentence on similar charges.
