A lawyer for a prominent Chinese dissident says his client has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for contract fraud.

The lawyer said Li Befeng was sentenced Monday at a court in southwestern Sichuan province. Li was formerly imprisoned for five years for involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement.

Li is a friend of Liao Yiwu, a dissident writer who fled to Germany last year.

Li's attorney said he would appeal the sentence.