The prominent Chinese rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for subversion.

A court in Tianjin heard on Monday that Wang had been found "guilty of subversion of state power".

Wang, a lawyer who defended political activists, victims of land seizures, and members of the banned religious group Falun Gong, was tried in a closed hearing at the second intermediate people's court on 26 December. Chinese courts often try sensitive political cases during the holiday season when western diplomats and media are away.