A court in central China's Hubei Province on Friday sentenced a man to three years in prison for using the Internet as a tool to instigate subversion of the state power.

The man, 40-year-old Du Daobin, was also deprived of his political rights for two years by the Xiaogan Intermediate People's Court in the trial of first instance.

The court found that Du wrote and posted 26 articles on the Internet from May 2002 to October 2003, inciting to subvert the state power and overthrow the socialist system. He was arrested in November 2003.

During investigations and judicial inquiry, Du confessed his criminal activities. Du, who worked with the medical insurance office of Yingcheng City before his arrest in, accepted funds from overseas organizations and individuals, and in return helped them post articles harmful to state security on domestic websites.

Du was accused of violating the criminal law and harming the society. He confessed to the facts of his crime in the trial with the defense of his lawyer. The court, giving consideration to Du's cooperation with the court and repentance, meted out this lenient verdict.

(China Daily June 11, 2004)