ULAN BATOR, Jan 23 (Bernama) -- Tsetsegee Munkhbayar, a prominent environmental activist in Mongolia, was sentenced to 21 and a half years' in jail for using firearms against government officials and threatening government and mining companies. Munkhbayar is a well-known environmental activist and former herder who won the prestigious international environmental Goldman Prize award in 2007. After two days of a court trial that continued late into Tuesday night, Munkhbayar and four other members of the "Fire Nation" environmental movement were given various jail terms ranging from two to over 21 years. Munkhbayar and seven fellow activists were arrested in possession of weapons outside the Mongolian government house in September last year, Xinhua news agency reported. The activist said he had intended to warn the authorities against the government's planned revision of the law that bans mining activity along river basins and forest areas. Police said Munkhbayar and other activists had blackmailed mining companies and attempted to use firearms and explosives against the authorities. Munkhbayar said at the closing of the trial that he did not commit a crime to deserve his sentence. "I have simply fulfilled my duty as a citizen to protect my motherland," he said. Tserenkhand, a coordinator of the Confederation of Mongolian River Movements, an umbrella environmental organisation of which Munkhbayar was part of, said the group will appeal against the court's sentence. Source: BERNAMA