Yuan Xianchen

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Yuan Xianchen is a lawyer human rights activist from Heilongjiang, China. On March 4 2009 he was found guilty of "inciting subversion of state power" and sentenced to four years inprisonment and five years' deprivation of political rights. The verdict is currently being appealed, since Yuan claims evidence used against him in court was extracted by means of torture. Yuan, 44, self-studied law and is best known for his work as a legal advisor to workers at the Didao Mine in Jixi City. The miners have been seeking compensation from the local government and the mine management since the former state-owned business was re-structured and became a private enterprise. Yuan's legal aid work in Jixi City since 1998 on behalf of farmers, miners, displaced persons, and other impoverished or exploited citizens earned him the ire of local government officials.