China

A Chinese activist who investigated whether shoddy construction contributed to deaths in the 2008 Sichuan quake has been sentenced to five years in jail. Tan Zuoren was formally charged with inciting subversion in connection with the bloody suppression of pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. But human rights groups say the real reason for the action taken against him was his investigations. Many school children were among the 80,000 people killed in the earthquake. Tan’s wife, Wang Qinghua, said the verdict was ridiculous. “This isn’t justice,” she said as she left court. Tan was arrested while preparing a report into the collapse of school buildings during the Sichuan quake. (BBC)