Chinese courts yesterday ruled against a blind activist and a researcher for the New York Times in two cases that have attracted international attention as examples of government retribution against dissent.
The courts rejected an appeal from Zhao Yan (
"It's just a very bad day for justice in China," said Mickey Spiegel, a researcher for the New York-based group Human Rights Watch. "The decisions ... have very little to do with justice and have everything to do with politics."
The Beijing High Court delivered its judgment on Zhao's appeal in a five-minute session, his lawyer Guan Anping (關安平) said in a telephone interview.
"Do you have anything to say?" the judge asked Zhao, according to a report on the Times' Web site that cited an unnamed witness.
"What kind of judge are you?" Zhao reportedly answered. "Is this how you use the power the country gave you?"
Zhao was convicted of fraud in August and sentenced to three years in prison, but he was acquitted of a more serious charge of revealing state secrets, which could have resulted in a 10-year prison term.
Reporters harassed
His case comes amid efforts by China's communist government to tighten controls on the media. Dozens of reporters have been harassed and jailed, often on charges of violating the country's vague secrecy and security laws.
Last week, the Beijing High Court rejected an appeal by a reporter from Hong Kong who was jailed by judges in China on spying charges while working for Singapore's Straits Times.
The New York Times had no immediate comment on yesterday's ruling, but said it would issue a statement later.
Meanwhile, the Yinan County court in Shandong Province upheld its decision to sentence Chen, who was blinded by a fever in infancy and taught himself law in order to fight discrimination against himself and handicapped farmers.
Yesterday's decision was issued in a 30-minute session, where no witnesses or evidence were presented, said Chen Guangfu (
"I feel that this sentence is so unfair," said Chen, whose mother and other brother were barred from the courtroom by court officials.
He said Chen Guangcheng stayed silent except after the judgment was read, when he said: "I want to appeal."
Chen was convicted in August of damaging property and "organizing a mob to disturb traffic" and sentenced to four years and three months in prison.
Last month, an intermediate court where Chen filed an appeal overturned the sentence, citing inadequate evidence, and sent it back to the lower court in Yinan County in Linyi City -- a decision that was praised by family members and other activists.
Official view
State media have reported that the 34-year-old activist instigated an attack on government offices in Yinan County because he was upset with workers sent to carry out poverty-relief programs and stirred up several members of his family to help damage police cars.
Chen's supporters said officials fabricated the charges against him in retaliation after he documented complaints that officials who were trying to enforce China's birth-control regulations forced villagers to have late-term abortions and sterilizations.
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