China tries journalist on 'state secrets' charges

Asia-Pacific News

Jun 16, 2006, 16:54 GMT

Beijing - A Chinese court on Friday tried a journalist accused of 'providing state secrets,' after prosecutors had dropped and later reinstated the same charges against him. The dropping and reinstatement of identical charges against New York Times news assistant Zhao Yan, 44, is illegal under Chinese law, Zhao's lawyer, Mo Shaoping, said before the trial. The Beijing Number 2 Intermediate People's Court held a closed trial with only representatives and immediate family allowed into the court. The trial lasted all day but the court issued no verdict, Mo said later on Friday. The court is expected to issue its verdict on Saturday, but if Zhao is found guilty his sentence may not be announced until a later date. New York-based Human Rights in China (HRIC) called for Zhao's immediate release, saying his detention since September 2004 was 'arbitrary' and 'in blatant violation of Chinese and international law'. 'In accordance with the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Zhao Yan is being unlawfully and arbitrarily detained for exercising his right to freedom of expression,' HRIC said in a statement. 'His continued detention is also a violation of Chinese law,' it said. 'HRIC calls on court officials to dismiss all charges against Zhao Yan and release him immediately. 'HRIC also urges that Zhao be compensated under Chinese law for his illegal detention.' The New York Times quoted the indictment as saying the charges of disclosing 'state secrets' arose from an article reporting the first confirmation that former president Jiang Zemin would step down, as expected, from his final post as head of the military. But China's foreign ministry has previously denied that the charges are related to the reporting of Jiang's resignation. Zhao is a Chinese citizen who worked as a journalist for several leading Chinese publications before moving to The New York Times. He has denied all charges against him since his arrest. Diplomats and politicians from the US and other countries have lobbied China to release Zhao. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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China tries journalist on 'state secrets' charges

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