- BEIJING (Reuters) -- China
has formally arrested a New York Times researcher detained last month for
passing state secrets to foreigners, a crime that carries a maximum
sentence
of death, his lawyer said on Thursday.
-
- "He was arrested yesterday, completely and formally
arrested," lawyer Mo Shaoping said.
-
- "The crime is the same as when he was detained --
illegally providing state secrets to foreigners. At its most serious, it
can carry the death sentence."
-
- Zhao Yan, a former reporter for the magazine China
Reform,
was detained in late September on suspicion of helping break the sensitive
news that leader Jiang Zemin would retire from politics, according to
sources
familiar with the case.
-
- The New York Times has denied the accusation that its
researcher was involved in such a crime and has lobbied the U.S. government
to press China for his release.
-
- Zhao's arrest comes less than a week before a visit to
Beijing by Secretary of State Colin Powell who raised the case last month
in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing.
-
- A Foreign Ministry spokesman said in September Zhao was
held on suspicion of illegally possessing state secrets, a crime that
carries
a lighter maximum sentence than passing secrets to foreigners, but Mo said
he had been charged with the latter, more serious, crime.
-
- "It's still in the investigation phase. Once that
is done, there is the procuratorial investigation and prosecution phase,
and only then is there the possibility of a court hearing," Mo said.
"Anything is possible."
-
- Before joining the Times, Zhao had exposed corruption
and tested the boundaries of official tolerance of media freedoms in a
series of run-ins with authorities.
-
- Mo said he had yet to see Zhao, but was preparing an
application for permission to visit.
-
- Relations between the United States and China have been
gradually improving, especially with increased economic and diplomatic
cooperation, but Washington is critical of Beijing for its human rights
record.
-
- Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights
reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in
reliance
thereon.
-
- http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?
- tmpl=story&cid=578&ncid=578&e=9&u=/nm
- /20041021/ts_nm/rights_china_reporter_dc
|
