He Jiankui, who was convicted of practicing medicine without a license, was also fined 3 million yuan ($430,000) by a court in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported. Two other researchers involved in the project received lesser sentences and fines.

He Jiankui, who shocked the scientific community by claiming he had created the world's first gene-edited babies, has gone missing, according to Chinese media.

A Chinese researcher who says he created gene-edited babies crossed what most scientists consider a forbidden line.

Scientists around the world are condemning He Jiankui's research, including his workplace, the Southern University of Science and Technology in China.