Beijing  - Human rights activist and self-taught lawyer Yuan Xianchen was sentenced to four years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power" after criticizing socialism and advocating democracy in articles and interviews with foreign media, a human rights group said Friday.

Chinese Human Rights Defenders said his arrest was also believed to stem from the help Yuan gave to Yang Chunlin, a farmers representative in the far north-eastern province of Heilongjiang, to collect signatures endorsing an open letter Yang distributed in early 2008 ahead of the Beijing Olympics entitled We Want Human Rights, Not the Olympics.

Yang was sentenced to five years in prison in March 2008, also for inciting subversion of state power.

Yuan, 44, is from the Heilongjiang city of Jixi and become known for providing legal help to farmers, miners and other workers.

Because he is self-taught, Yuan is known as the "barefoot lawyer," a designation that harkens back to the barefoot doctors of China's Cultural Revolution who were given rudimentary medical training and sent to provide basic health care in rural areas that lacked doctors.

Renee Xia, the rights group's international director, called the verdict against Yuan "grossly unjust" because evidence was admitted at Yuan's January 12 trial in Jixi that was obtained by torture.

Yuan told his attorneys that he was tortured in detention and coerced into confessing, the rights group said.

"The court never called for an investigation of torture alleged by the defendant as requested by his lawyers," Xia said.

The rights group said the trial should be declared invalid and Yuan was only exercising his right to freedom of speech, which is guaranteed by China's constitution.

Yuan said he would appeal the verdict, handed down Wednesday. (dpa)