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| Gao Yu: Court upholds verdict for jailed Chinese journalist | Gao Yu: Court upholds verdict for jailed Chinese journalist |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A Chinese court has upheld a guilty verdict against a senior journalist accused of leaking state secrets, her lawyer said. | A Chinese court has upheld a guilty verdict against a senior journalist accused of leaking state secrets, her lawyer said. |
| Gao Yu did, however, receive a reduced sentence from seven years to five years in prison. | Gao Yu did, however, receive a reduced sentence from seven years to five years in prison. |
| Ms Gao, who is 71, was found guilty last April and appealed her conviction at a closed hearing in Beijing. | Ms Gao, who is 71, was found guilty last April and appealed her conviction at a closed hearing in Beijing. |
| Foreign governments and human rights groups have condemned the verdict calling it politically motivated. | Foreign governments and human rights groups have condemned the verdict calling it politically motivated. |
| "We of course hoped our defence would have set her free, but the reduction of two years is still a good thing," her lawyer Shang Baojun told AP news agency. | "We of course hoped our defence would have set her free, but the reduction of two years is still a good thing," her lawyer Shang Baojun told AP news agency. |
| The well-known investigative journalist was found guilty of sending an internal Communist Party document to Mingjing News, a Chinese-language website in the United States. The document warned against the dangers of a free press and an independent civil society. | The well-known investigative journalist was found guilty of sending an internal Communist Party document to Mingjing News, a Chinese-language website in the United States. The document warned against the dangers of a free press and an independent civil society. |
| At the time of the original conviction the court had said that Ms Gao had "illegally provided state secrets to foreigners". | At the time of the original conviction the court had said that Ms Gao had "illegally provided state secrets to foreigners". |
| Both Ms Gao and Mingjing News have denied she was the source of the leak. | Both Ms Gao and Mingjing News have denied she was the source of the leak. |
| 'Might not survive' | 'Might not survive' |
| The BBC's Celia Hatton in Beijing says no reason was given by the court to explain the unusual reduction in her sentence. Many people have pressed for a lighter sentence in consideration of Ms Gao's advanced age and her chronic heart problems. | The BBC's Celia Hatton in Beijing says no reason was given by the court to explain the unusual reduction in her sentence. Many people have pressed for a lighter sentence in consideration of Ms Gao's advanced age and her chronic heart problems. |
| Ms Gao's son, Zhao Meng, told the BBC he was concerned his mother would not survive another lengthy period in prison, her third since 1989. | Ms Gao's son, Zhao Meng, told the BBC he was concerned his mother would not survive another lengthy period in prison, her third since 1989. |
| Her lawyers said medical parole could be an option for Ms Gao, according to the AP. | |
| Our correspondent says many believe that Gao Yu is unpopular with the Chinese government because of her unrelenting reports focusing on China's elite-level politics. | Our correspondent says many believe that Gao Yu is unpopular with the Chinese government because of her unrelenting reports focusing on China's elite-level politics. |
| News of Ms Gao's upheld conviction attracted further criticism. | News of Ms Gao's upheld conviction attracted further criticism. |
| Prominent human rights activist Hu Jia tweeted in Chinese: "Changing seven years to five years has no meaning, for innocent citizen Gao Yu to be detained for five minutes is already a violation of rights." |