A Chinese court has sentenced a prominent dissident to 10 years in prison for inciting subversion.

After a short trial Monday in Guiyan – the provincial capital of Guizhou province – Chen Xi maintained his innocence, but said he would not appeal the guilty verdict. Chen is a veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protest movement.

Activists believe the charge was related to essays the 57-year-old wrote on advancing political reform and improving human rights in China.

On Friday, veteran democracy activist Chen Wei was sentenced in the southwestern province of Sichuan to nine years behind bars for subversion.

Inciting subversion is a charge often used to punish dissidents critical of the ruling Communist Party.