【베이징=AP/뉴시스】김태언 인턴기자 = 티베트의 한  환경운동가가 자신의 웹사이트에 달라이 라마의 기사를 게재한 혐의로 5년 징역형을 선고받았다.  3일(현지시간) 중국 청두 중급인민법원은 "환경운동가인 린첸 샘드럽이 자신의 홈페이지(Rinchen Samdrup's website)에 달라이 라마의 기사를 수 시간 동안 게재하고 티베트 분리주의 운동을 선동했다"며 이같이 선고했다.  린첸 샘드럽은 이날 공판에서 "자신은 기사를 게재하지 않았다"며 "이는 실수다. 빠른 시간내 지우지 못했다"고 무죄를 주장했다.  그의 변호사인 시아 준은 "이는 실수며 범죄가 아니다. 기사는 누군가가 몰래 게재했을 수도 있다"며 "이번 판결에 깊은 유감을 느낀다"고 밝혔다.  중국 정부는 지난 2008년의 티베트 수도 라사에서 독립을 주장하는 폭동이 발생하면서 티베트의 정신적 지도자인 달라이 라마와 관계된 어떤 행위에도 강경한 반응을 보이고 있다.  워싱턴에 위치한 국제티베트독립운동협회는 지난 달 발간한 보고서에서 "현재 31명의 티베트 지식인들이 그들의 생각과 시각을 시와 수필에서 표현한 혐의로 감옥에 있다"며 "이는 그들의 영향을 고려한 중국당국 정책 때문"이라고 비판했다.  보고서는 또 "1976년 문화대혁명 이후 자신의 시각을 평화롭게 표현하는 티베트의 예술가들이 집중적으로 박해받고 있다"고 주장했다.  un7stars@newsis.com BEIJING (AP) - A Tibetan environmentalist was sentenced to five years in prison Saturday on a charge of inciting separatism in China, in the latest sign of what rights groups called increasing repression of Tibetan intellectuals. Chinese authorities said an article on Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was posted to Rinchen Samdrup's website, which is devoted to environmental protection in the Himalayan region. Rinchen Samdrup pleaded not guilty in a trial that lasted less than two hours. He told the Changdu Intermediate People's Court he didn't post the article and it was a mistake not to delete it quickly. The Chinese government is highly sensitive about anything related to the Dalai Lama, whom it has accused of supporting independence for Tibet. Tensions in the region escalated after 2008 rioting in the Tibetan capital Lhasa, in which at least 22 people died. "I feel regret about this sentence," his lawyer Xia Jun said by phone after the verdict. "It was a mistake but not a crime." The lawyer said someone else posted the article, not Rinchen Samdrup. He did not say who. The sentence comes little over a week after Rinchen Samdrup's brother, a nationally known environmentalist once praised by the Chinese government as a model philanthropist, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of grave-robbing and dealing in looted antiquities. Supporters of the brother, Karma Samdrup, said the sentence was aimed at punishing his activism, including his efforts to free Rinchen Samdrup and another brother from detention. Rinchen Samdrup and brother Chime Namgyal were detained after accusing local officials in eastern Tibet of poaching endangered species. Chime Namgyal, is reportedly serving a 21-month sentence in a labor camp on the vague charge of harming national security. Even after Rinchen Samdrup was detained, the People's Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, published stories this year in praise of his environmental work. Xia said Rinchen Samdrup has 10 days to appeal. "The verdict is unacceptable. He was wrongly accused," said Rinchen Samdrup's daughter, Dorje Songmu, who attended the trial. "This morning, he looked much thinner than before. His condition was not very good. We couldn't talk with him directly." Officials at the Changdu Intermediate People's Court had no comment Saturday. Last month, the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet published a report saying 31 Tibetans are now in prison "after reporting or expressing views, writing poetry or prose, or simply sharing information about Chinese government policies and their impact in Tibet today." The report said it was the first time since the end of China's chaotic Cultural Revolution in 1976 that there has been such a targeted campaign against Tibetan singers, artists and writers who peacefully express their views. New York-based group Human Rights Watch said in a statement last month that the Samdrup brothers "embody the characteristics the government says it wants in modern Tibetans ... yet they, too, are being treated as criminals."