3 Peasants Sentenced in Riot in China

BEIJING, Jan. 9 -- A Chinese court sentenced three villagers to prison terms ranging from one to five years Monday after convicting them of illegal acts during a peasant riot last April in Zhejiang province, according to attorneys and village activists.

The violent uprising at Huaxi near the city of Dongyang, which was described in a Washington Post article in June, erupted over farmers' complaints that local officials unfairly confiscated their fields and allowed the land to be used by chemical factories that polluted the area. Dozens of policemen were injured and hundreds more fled the village after about 3,000 farmers attacked them with stones and bricks.

The riot was one of thousands that have broken out across China over the past two years, often in disputes over land confiscations. President Hu Jintao and the Communist Party on Saturday urged officials to exercise particular care in confiscating land for industrial development, warning that corruption among local authorities and businessmen would be severely punished.

Following the Huaxi violence, several local officials were dismissed and the factories responsible for most of the pollution were closed. Of the 13 operating last spring, only a few remain in operation, according to villagers, who said the pollution has diminished markedly.

After the violence, about 50 Huaxi residents were taken into custody and interrogated at length; some were subjected to what their attorneys described as torture. Eventually, nine were formally arrested and charged with assault or inciting disorder. The nine, including one villager who became an informer, were put on trial last month in the nearby city of Lanxi.

Wei Rujiu, one of six Beijing lawyers who helped defend them, said Liu Huirong, 29, was sentenced to five years after he was convicted of assaulting a policeman. Wang Zongliang, 34, was sentenced to one year and Wang Liangping, 40, was sentenced to 15 months, both for inciting social disorder. Wei said Liu Huirong and Wang Liangping planned to appeal.

The six others were convicted of causing disturbances and received suspended sentences, the attorney added.

Wang Liangping's sister, Wang Xiaofang, said her brother told her he accepted police suggestions that he had participated in assaults on police only to get interrogators to stop beating him. The sister said in a recent interview that Wang is mentally retarded and had fled the area long before police were beaten.