Farmers' jail terms upheld after appeal

XI'AN: The three farmers found guilty of organizing unlawful assemblies in front of the Shaanxi government office last year had their appeals rejected on Wednesday at the intermediate people's court here.

Sun Hailong, deputy director of the court, told China Daily yesterday the first trial presented clear evidence of the men's guilt and the sentences must be therefore upheld.

On Aug 6, the Baqiao district people's court sentenced Qiu Tugai to four years in jail, Liang Guanshe to three years and Zhang Jianrong to one year, after finding them guilty of leading illegal assemblies.