The European Union says it, quote “deplores” the Sichuan High Court’s decision to uphold a five-year prison sentence for Chinese activist Tan Zuoren. Tan had been sentenced for subversion after he investigated how shoddy school construction led to the deaths of children during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

In a declaration issued last Friday, EU’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged the Chinese regime to unconditionally release Tan.

Many foreign ministers of EU's member states backed the declaration. It said Tan’s verdict was, quote “entirely incompatible with his freedom of expression.” It also said the procedure in Tan’s trial was flawed.

Tan was tried last August, and in February was convicted of subversion. The verdict, however, did not mention his investigations into earthquake deaths. Instead, it was based on an article he wrote on the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.

On Sunday, the Chinese regime’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang protested the EU’s statement. He says the case was handled in accordance with Chinese law.

Tan’s wife, however, believes otherwise.

[Wang Qinghua, Wife of Tan Zuoren]:
“My view has not changed since the start. I think that every day he is [still] considered guilty is wrong. I've thought about it, and he has done nothing against the law. Everything he’s done has been correct.”

According to rights NGO Human Rights in China, witnesses for Tan’s trial in August were prevented from attending the hearing. Last Wednesday, during Tan’s 12-minute appeal hearing, neither he nor his lawyer was allowed to speak.