China hands pro-democarcy activist 10-year jail term

A Chinese activist who published pro-democracy articles online has been handed a 10-year jail term, reports said, as edgy leadership went about killing dissent in the wake of the 'Jasmine Revolution.'

A court in the Sichuan province found that Liu Xianbin, a 43-year-old activist detained in June last year, had engaged in "inciting subversion of state power", ABC News reported.

"The public prosecution authorities believe that these articles slander and vilify the Chinese Communist Party and incite people to overthrow party leaders," Liu's wife told AFP.

The report said the activist, who was associated with the had been Tiananmen square uprising, has already spent more than a decade in jail.

He is one of the founding members of the China Democracy Party and has been a vocal supporter of various dissident groups in the country.