Pu Zhiqiang, a civil rights lawyer whose online posts landed him charges of inciting ethnic hatred and provoking trouble was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison with a three-year reprieve but will not appeal, one of his attorneys said.

The Beijing No. 2 People's Court delivered the verdict a week after Pu went on trial on December 14.

Mo Shaoping, one of Pu's attorneys, confirmed with the Global Times on Tuesday that Pu will not appeal the verdict.

"Pu acknowledged that he wrote those posts. He also admitted that some of the posts are rude and wrong, but he does not think doing so would constitute a crime," Mo said, referring to seven of Pu's Weibo posts cited as evidence of his charges.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, which cited the court, Pu, 50, had admitted to his charges and showed regret. The court has therefore decided to impose a lenient sentence.

One of Pu's lawyers, Shang Baojun, previously confirmed with the Global Times that the prosecutors were citing seven of Pu's Weibo posts as evidence of his crimes. Among them, four were used for the charge of ethnic hatred and three for provoking trouble.

The court said Tuesday that Pu continued to post inflammatory content despite warnings from website administrators, and that his behavior has proved that he intended to fan ethnic hatred, according to Xinhua. The court also said Pu's insulting posts, which had been reposted some 900 times and received over 500 comments, caused disorder in cyberspace and negative social impact, leading the court to believe his behavior had constituted the crime of "picking quarrels and provoking troubles."

According to Mo, Pu will be released from detention and return home immediately upon accepting the verdict. He has been detained since May, 2014.

Previous report: Rights lawyer’s trial tests court’s autonomy

The trial of Pu Zhiqiang, a Chinese human rights lawyer, was held at Beijing No. 2  Intermediate People's Court at 9 am Monday morning, and concluded three hours later. The court announced that a sentence would be delivered at a later date.

Some of Pu's supporters, including a dozen Western diplomats, gathered outside the courthouse on the same day to express their support. According to Pu's lawyer, Pu stands accused of "inciting ethnic hatred" and "picking quarrels and provoking troubles." But some of the related evidence was not accepted by prosecutors. In the end, the evidence was narrowed down to seven of his Weibo posts. In this case, if he is found guilty, the final verdict won't be too severe.

Pu's defense lawyer pleaded innocence for his client. The demand to declare Pu's innocence is also the attitude of the West and his supporters. Therefore, whether he will be given a guilty verdict has become the focus of this case.