JURIST - Paper Chase: Verdict delayed in China state secrets trial of NYT researcher

[JURIST] The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court has delayed the verdict in the trial of Zhao Yan [HRIC profile, PDF], a former New York Times researcher, a defense lawyer said Friday. Zhao has been indicted for "providing state secrets to foreigners" following a 2004 New York Times report [text] that revealed the resignation of Jiang Zemin as head of the military before it was formally announced and his trial finished last week. Zhao's lawyer said Friday the verdict has been delayed for one month, with an answer expected by July 25, adding that it is common for a delay in a case "where there is a great discrepancy between prosecutors and defense lawyers."

China first formally indicted Zhao on the state secrets charges in December, but dropped the charges in March while continuing to detain Zhao [JURIST reports]. China has insisted that Zhao's continued detention is legal [JURIST report] under the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law [text]. Zhao's retrial had been postponed in early June, with no indication at the time of when the trial would take place. AP has more.

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