A court in northern China sentenced five church leaders to up to seven years in prison after they tried to stop their place of worship being torn down, their lawyer said Thursday.

The five were sentenced by a court in Linfen city, Shanxi province, on Wednesday after being convicted of "illegally occupying farm land" and "disturbing transportation through a mass gathering," Li Fanping told AFP.

"I was shocked at the seriousness of the punishment.

"This shows that the government is intent on using the law as a tool to attack the church," Li said.

The verdicts mark the latest in a series of trials, sentences, or other moves against dissidents reported by activists and lawyers in the aftermath of US President Barack Obama's visit to China last week.

Yang Rongli and Zhang Huamei, both women, were given sentences of seven and four years respectively, Li said.

Three men, including Pastor Wang Xiaoguang, were sentenced to between three and four years.

The five were leaders of an unregistered church group in Linfen that numbers up to 60 000 people, Li said.

They were arrested in September after trying to stop authorities from tearing down a large farm warehouse where Christians congregated to worship, he said.

Li said the church has not yet been torn down but a police guard had prevented the congregation from meeting.

Repeated calls by AFP to officials at the court and the local religious affairs bureau seeking comment went unanswered Thursday.

Obama raised the issue of human rights with President Hu Jintao during his trip.

"We strongly condemn this unjust sentence, which is based on trumped up charges," Bob Fu, head of the US-based ChinaAid religious rights group, said in an emailed statement.

"This case clearly shows the serious deteriorating situation of religious persecution in China."

China officially provides freedom of religion but in practice the ruling Communist Party restricts independent worship by forcing groups to register with the government.

The government says China's official churches have 15-million Protestants and five million Catholics. But there are believed to be many millions more worshipping in "underground" or "family" churches, which refuse to submit to government regulation.