Wu Gan, a blogger better known by his online name “Super Vulgar Butcher”, regularly championed sensitive cases of government abuses of power, both online and in street protests. His sentence is the most severe yet in what rights groups have called an unprecedented attack on China’s rights activists and lawyers, known as the 709 crackdown, which began in earnest on July 9, 2015. The hardline approach to rights activism has shown no sign of softening as Chinese President Xi Jinping enters his second five-year term in office. Xu told Reuters in July he felt compelled to speak out on his son’s behalf after authorities asked him to say Wu was guilty. The crackdown has also spurred other family members to take up activism.

Source: The Express Tribune December 26, 2017 06:56 UTC