AKIPRESS.COM - One of China's most prominent human rights lawyers is set to be freed after a Beijing court on Tuesday gave him a suspended prison sentence in a case involving online comments critical of the ruling Communist Party.

The court convicted Pu Zhiqiang on charges of disturbing public order and inciting ethnic hatred, and sentenced him to three years in prison but said the sentence will be suspended for three years, reports AP.

Still, the guilty verdict disqualifies Pu from practicing law, and he must comply with certain restrictions and not commit crimes during the three-year period or risk being jailed.

Pu was detained shortly after attending a May 2014 meeting to discuss commemorating 25 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre, at a time when authorities were keeping a lid on any public commemorations of the event. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of protesters were killed in the crackdown, and the topic remains taboo in China.

After a prolonged investigation, Pu stood trial on Dec. 14 — after more than 19 months in detention — for several of his online comments that questioned Beijing's ethnic policies and poked fun at some political figures.