Chinese researcher for NY Times to appeal-lawyer

BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese researcher for the New York
Times who was sentenced to three years jail for fraud will
contest the conviction after having beat a separate charge of
illegally leaking state secrets, his lawyer said on Monday.

Zhao Yan was tried in June on a charge that he gave the
newspaper details in 2004 of a rivalry between Chinese
President Hu Jintao and his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, over
military appointments.

At the same trial, Zhao was also accused of defrauding a
rural official of 20,000 yuan ($2,500) in 2001. The prosecution
said Zhao took the money with the broken promise that he would
help the man avoid a sentence of “labor re-education” — a form
of imprisonment.

On August 25, a Beijing court unexpectedly rejected the
state secrets charge, but found Zhao guilty of fraud and
sentenced him to three years in jail. With the two years Zhao
has already been detained, the sentence will keep him in jail
until September 2007.

“Zhao Yan believes the accusation is absurd, and the court
did not give him an opportunity to call witnesses who can prove
his innocence,” said his lawyer, Guan Anping. Guan said Zhao
had signed papers on Monday demanding the appeal.

Guan said Chinese procedure may allow the prosecution to
contest the not-guilty verdict in the state secrets case, but
he said there appeared to be little chance authorities will
take that cumbersome and controversial step.

The appeal will be considered by the Beijing High Court and
a hearing is at least a month off, Guan said.