Human rights lawyer Zhou Shifeng sentenced to seven years for subversion after representing Ai Weiwei

Zhou Shifeng, a human rights attorney known for representing artist Ai Weiwei, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for subversion after a trial lasting just half a day. In July, Zhou was taken by three unidentified individuals, leading to his disappearance being reported by the South China Morning Post. According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, Zhou admitted to being swayed by foreign influences aiming to undermine the Chinese communist regime. He had previously taken legal action against the Sanlu Group, the state-owned dairy firm implicated in the 2008 melamine-tainted baby formula scandal, and had also defended members of the oppressed Falun Gong sect. Two other lawyers from the Fengrui firm were associated with the case. Ai Weiwei has yet to respond to the sentencing. The Financial Times covered the trial's outcome.