Chinese farmer who praised lawyers sentenced to 18 years

BEIJING (AP) — A prominent Chinese pig farmer who was detained after praising lawyers during a crackdown on legal activists by President Xi Jinping’s government has been sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of organizing an attack on officials and other offenses. Sun Dawu, chairman of Dawu Agriculture Group, was among 20 defendants who stood trial southwest of Beijing. They were detained after Dawu employees in August 2020 tried to stop a state-owned enterprise from demolishing a company building. The court says Sun also was fined 3.1 million yuan ($480,000). The company says other defendants received sentences ranging from one to 12 years.