China Sentences Dissident to Life in Prison

  • VOA News

China has sentenced a U.S.-based dissident to life in prison on terrorism and kidnapping charges.

The official Xinhua New Agency says Peng Ming was convicted Thursday by a court in the central province of Hubei.

Chinese authorities said the 48-year-old dissident established a terrorist training base in Burma.

They also say he recruited followers to plot murders and kidnappings. Peng is leader of the San Francisco-based China Federation Foundation. He fled China in 2000 after serving 18 months in a labor camp for his pro-democracy activities.

Peng was arrested in Burma in 2004 on charges of carrying fake Chinese currency and turned over to China.

The Washington-based group Worldrights has said Peng's arrest and transfer to China violates international law. They have called for his release.

Information for this report is provided by AP and Reuters.