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| Court in China Reduces Prison Sentence for Gao Yu, Prominent Journalist | Court in China Reduces Prison Sentence for Gao Yu, Prominent Journalist |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| BEIJING — A court in Beijing on Thursday reduced the prison sentence being served by a well-known journalist, Gao Yu, who had been convicted of leaking a Communist Party document that laid out plans for a campaign against Western liberal ideas, according to her lawyers. | |
| The decision by the Beijing high court took two years off the seven-year sentence handed down to Ms. Gao, 71, by a lower court in April, after her trial last November, said Mo Shaoping, one of her lawyers. | The decision by the Beijing high court took two years off the seven-year sentence handed down to Ms. Gao, 71, by a lower court in April, after her trial last November, said Mo Shaoping, one of her lawyers. |
| Her defense team will ask that Ms. Gao, who has struggled with illness, be allowed to serve the remainder of her sentence outside prison, Mr. Mo said. | Her defense team will ask that Ms. Gao, who has struggled with illness, be allowed to serve the remainder of her sentence outside prison, Mr. Mo said. |
| “The court upheld the guilty verdict, but amended the prison term to five years,” Mr. Mo said by telephone. “We will continue to request that Gao Yu be allowed to serve the rest of her sentence outside on medical grounds.” | “The court upheld the guilty verdict, but amended the prison term to five years,” Mr. Mo said by telephone. “We will continue to request that Gao Yu be allowed to serve the rest of her sentence outside on medical grounds.” |
| Mr. Mo said that the presiding judge did not give a reason for the reduced sentence, but that it may be explained in the court’s written decision, to be released later. | Mr. Mo said that the presiding judge did not give a reason for the reduced sentence, but that it may be explained in the court’s written decision, to be released later. |
| Ms. Gao’s trial and imprisonment were denounced by many sympathizers in China, as well as by international human rights and journalists’ groups. | Ms. Gao’s trial and imprisonment were denounced by many sympathizers in China, as well as by international human rights and journalists’ groups. |
| The ruling came two days after a hearing at which Ms. Gao’s lawyers argued against the lower court’s verdict. Mr. Mo and another defense lawyer, Shang Baojun, declined to describe what they had said in court, but in an interview before the ruling was announced, Mr. Mo said there were strong grounds for a revised verdict and at least a lighter sentence, or a release for medical reasons. Ms. Gao has high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems. | The ruling came two days after a hearing at which Ms. Gao’s lawyers argued against the lower court’s verdict. Mr. Mo and another defense lawyer, Shang Baojun, declined to describe what they had said in court, but in an interview before the ruling was announced, Mr. Mo said there were strong grounds for a revised verdict and at least a lighter sentence, or a release for medical reasons. Ms. Gao has high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems. |
| At her trial last year, Ms. Gao said that the charges against her — of illegally obtaining state secrets and passing them abroad — were unfounded and that her apparent confession to the allegations was made under duress. Ms. Gao later appealed her conviction and was granted a second hearing that produced the latest decision. | At her trial last year, Ms. Gao said that the charges against her — of illegally obtaining state secrets and passing them abroad — were unfounded and that her apparent confession to the allegations was made under duress. Ms. Gao later appealed her conviction and was granted a second hearing that produced the latest decision. |
| The State Department responded to the ruling Thursday by calling for Ms. Gao’s release, saying that the United States “remains concerned” about her case. Samantha Power, the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations, had previously called for Ms. Gao to be freed. | |
| “Given Gao Yu’s advanced age and poor health, we urge China to release her on humanitarian grounds,” the State Department said in a comment issued through the United States Embassy in Beijing. | |
| The Chinese authorities have not explicitly said what secret document Ms. Gao was accused of leaking. But details from the trial and from official statements left no doubt that it was a directive from the Communist Party leadership calling for officials to combat the influence of Western political ideas, such as civic society, electoral democracy and constitutionalism. | |
| Since coming to power three years ago, President Xi Jinping has overseen an intense campaign against political dissent and liberal ideas. And the directive, widely referred to as Document No. 9, was cited and summarized on party websites long before Ms. Gao was charged. | Since coming to power three years ago, President Xi Jinping has overseen an intense campaign against political dissent and liberal ideas. And the directive, widely referred to as Document No. 9, was cited and summarized on party websites long before Ms. Gao was charged. |
| Investigators alleged that she had given a secret document to the Mirror Media Group, a Chinese-language news company based in New York, which published a copy of Document No. 9 in August 2013. The New York Times also reported on the directive around the same time. The Mirror Media Group denied that Ms. Gao had given it the document. | Investigators alleged that she had given a secret document to the Mirror Media Group, a Chinese-language news company based in New York, which published a copy of Document No. 9 in August 2013. The New York Times also reported on the directive around the same time. The Mirror Media Group denied that Ms. Gao had given it the document. |
| Ms. Gao and her son, Zhao Meng, were detained by the police in Beijing in April 2014. | Ms. Gao and her son, Zhao Meng, were detained by the police in Beijing in April 2014. |
| Human rights advocates said the sentence reduction on Thursday was a step in the right direction but did not alter the fact that the verdict against Ms. Gao was unjust. | Human rights advocates said the sentence reduction on Thursday was a step in the right direction but did not alter the fact that the verdict against Ms. Gao was unjust. |
| “Gao’s slight sentence reduction is good news, but it’s not enough,” said Maya Wang, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who monitors human rights issues in China. “She has committed no crime and shouldn’t be imprisoned in the first place.” | “Gao’s slight sentence reduction is good news, but it’s not enough,” said Maya Wang, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who monitors human rights issues in China. “She has committed no crime and shouldn’t be imprisoned in the first place.” |
| Ms. Gao’s current stint in prison is her third on politically sensitive charges. She became a well-known figure before the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, when she was deputy editor in chief of Economics Weekly, a liberal journal. | Ms. Gao’s current stint in prison is her third on politically sensitive charges. She became a well-known figure before the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, when she was deputy editor in chief of Economics Weekly, a liberal journal. |
| She was detained by the authorities for nearly 15 months after the armed crackdown on the 1989 protests. In 1993, she was imprisoned again, on charges of leaking state secrets, because of articles she had written for Hong Kong publications. She was released in 1999 on medical parole. | She was detained by the authorities for nearly 15 months after the armed crackdown on the 1989 protests. In 1993, she was imprisoned again, on charges of leaking state secrets, because of articles she had written for Hong Kong publications. She was released in 1999 on medical parole. |