Zhao Lianhai , who helped families seek justice after their children became ill from drinking melamine-laced milk, was jailed for two and a half years for 'provoking quarrels and making trouble' by a Beijing court yesterday, sparking outrage among his supporters. Zhao, 38, was convicted by the Daxing District People's Court for 'inciting and gathering crowds to protest'. The verdict said Zhao and others had 'chanted slogans and gathered illegally to stir trouble' and seriously disrupted the social order. His lawyer, Li Fangping , said the jail term was unusually severe, compared with sentences for similar cases, which are typically six to eight months. Zhao has already been detained for nearly a year. 'It's an attempt to suppress the tainted milk victims' human rights activities,' Li said outside the court. He added that Zhao will appeal. Li said Zhao was furious upon hearing the sentence and took off his prisoner's uniform and slammed it on the judge's desk. 'I'm innocent! I have done no wrong!' he quoted Zhao as saying. Zhao vowed he would go on a hunger strike to protest against the verdict. The verdict mentioned incidents for which Zhao, himself a father of one of the victims of the milk scandal and the founder of the online support group Kidney Stone Babies, was being punished. Before his arrest almost a year ago, Zhao and other parents had protested outside several courthouses when cases were heard against milk companies. Last summer, he also tried to help a victim in a rape case seek justice from police. He and others protested outside the headquarters of the Beijing Public Security Bureau when they became frustrated with police inaction. The verdict also mentioned that Zhao had hosted a dinner in September last year to mark the first anniversary of the scandal and had contacted foreign media. Li said the judge and prosecutor had tried twice to persuade him to plead guilty, but Zhao said no. After the verdict was delivered, Zhao's wife and mother emerged from the courthouse, crying. 'Zhao Lianhai is innocent,' his wife, Li Xuemei , said, holding her crying baby daughter. 'I can't believe this. It's just too corrupt.' Li said her family was in financial distress because of the length of Zhao's detention. Some supporters shouted, 'Rubbish court, rubbish judgment', while another shouted: 'Zhao Lianhai is a hero, Zhao Lianhai is innocent.' Others were holding sheets of paper bearing the message, '[We] want a fair verdict.' Court officials were filming the demonstration from the second floor of the court building. An official was smiling as he watched the protesters. Li said Zhao was expected to be sent to a prison in Tianjin . The milk scandal broke in 2008, when six infants died and around 300,000 children were diagnosed with kidney failure after drinking milk laced with melamine, an industrial chemical added to substandard milk to help it to pass protein tests. Parents and relatives who have tried to seek legal redress over their children who died or were made ill by the poisoned milk have been repeatedly harassed by authorities. Zhao, a father of two, had said the authorities had harassed him many times over activities he had organised. Many parents have backed off from their fight for compensation and lifelong treatment for their children, Zhao was one of the few who persisted despite the intense pressure. Earlier this year, the government said at least five dairy manufacturers had been using contaminated milk powder seized more than a year ago in new products. Parents of victims said the jailing of Zhao showed the government was more keen on suppressing the voices of the victims than actually cracking down on the corrupt practices and collusion between officials and milk manufacturers. Zhao used to lead a simple life as a well-paid advertising executive with a monthly salary of 5,000 to 6,000 yuan, his sister said. But the discovery that his toddler son had kidney stones in 2008 made him give up his job and turn into a full-time activist, crusading for the rights of parents in the same situation. His family and supporters say Zhao is a generous and passionate man with a strong sense of justice. He insisted on fighting for his and other parents' rights, but was also trying to stay legal and often compromised with police over his activities. 'He is an upright person and was always trying to help others. He is somebody who always wants justice to be done,' said Zhou Xiong , the father of a three-year-old boy who lost the function of one kidney and does not have enough money to get the proper treatment he needs. Peng Jian , another of Zhao's lawyers, said his client's sentence sent a wrong message that people would be punished for doing good. 'It's like saying people shouldn't care about social justice and responsibility,' Peng said. 'Zhao Lianhai has a sense of social responsibility, and this is what he got for his efforts.'