A Chinese court found a combative civil-rights lawyer guilty of subversion and sentenced him to 4½ years in prison, the final prosecution from a sweeping government crackdown against legal activists.

The verdict in the case of Wang Quanzhang arrived with little warning on Monday: The No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court in the port city of Tianjin said Mr. Wang was found guilty of subverting state power and sentenced to prison in a statement posted on the court’s website. It didn’t release the full judgment against the lawyer.

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