Beijing Court Schedules Trial of New York Times Researcher Zhao Yan For June 8

June 2, 2006

Chinese authorities have set a preliminary date of June 8 to try Zhao Yan, a researcher at the New York Times Beijing bureau, according to a May 27 Reuters article. Authorities originally detained Zhao in 2004 for disclosing state secrets, a charge that both Zhao and the New York Times have denied. They subsequently charged him with both fraud and revealing state secrets in 2005.

Chinese authorities have set a preliminary date of June 8 to try Zhao Yan, a researcher at the New York Times Beijing bureau, according to a May 27 Reuters article. Authorities originally detained Zhao in 2004 for disclosing state secrets, a charge that both Zhao and the New York Times have denied. They subsequently charged him with both fraud and revealing state secrets in 2005.

Authorities have used provisions in Chinese law to hold Zhao Yan since September 2004 without trial:

Deadline for Law Enforcement to Complete Its Investigation

Officers from the Ministry of State Security detained Zhao on September 17, 2004, and authorities formally arrested him on October 20, 2004 for "providing state secrets to foreigners." After investigating Zhao for seven months, Beijing police claimed in June 2005 that they found new evidence of fraud against him, according to a June 1, 2005, Reuters article. Later that month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that on May 20, 2005, security officials had completed their investigation and transferred Zhao's case to the Beijing procuratorate for prosecution on two separate charges of providing state secrets to foreigners and fraud.

Under Articles 124, 126, and 127 of the Criminal Procedure Law (CPL), investigators have the authority to hold a suspect for a maximum of seven months after his formal arrest. However, Article 128 of the CPL allows investigators to restart the clock if they find evidence of "other major crimes." The law does not limit the number of "new crimes" that investigators may assert. In practice, suspects may therefore be held in pretrial detention for years.

Deadline for the Procuratorate to Issue an Indictment

In May 2005, the Beijing procuratorate began examination of the investigation files. On December 23, 2005, it issued an initial indictment against Zhao for revealing state secrets and fraud. The indictment came two weeks after Reporters Without Borders awarded Zhao its 2005 Fondation de France Prize.

Under Articles 138 and 140 of the CPL, the procuratorate may hold a suspect for a maximum of 6.5 months after the investigation has ended, if the case requires supplementary investigation. At the end of this period, the procuratorate must decide whether or not to issue an indictment.

Deadline for the Court to Commence Trial Proceedings

On March 17, 2006, about a month before Chinese President Hu Jintao was scheduled to visit the United States and meet with U.S. President George W. Bush, the Beijing procuratorate received permission from the court to withdraw its case, according to a March 22 New York Times report (registration required). The New York Times reported that Zhao's trial had already been postponed once and was scheduled to begin no later than March 20. But on March 22 and 23, the Voice of America reported (in Chinese) that the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court sent a letter to Mo Shaoping, Zhao's lawyer, to inform him that it had approved a procuratorate request to drop the charges against Zhao. The March 22 report quoted Mo as saying that, "by withdrawing the prosecution, there is no longer anyone to charge [the defendant], and without anyone to charge the defendant, there is no way for a court to find anyone guilty of a crime." Mo added that under Chinese law, authorities should have released Zhao at that time.

Chinese authorities continued to hold Zhao, however, and a May 16 New York Times report (registration required) noted that the procuratorate issued a new indictment against Zhao on May 12, three weeks after President Hu's meeting with President Bush. The New York Times reported (registration required) on May 21 that the new indictment "reinstated the old charges against Mr. Zhao word for word, charge for charge." On May 15, Mo told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that the new case would also be heard by the same judges at the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court. Mo added that no Chinese law or judicial interpretation authorizes the procuratorate to resume prosecution after it has withdrawn a case, and that in Zhao's case, this action was taken with "no basis in law." The RFA report (in Chinese) said that as of May 15, Mo still had not seen the new indictment and did not know what evidence or charges formed the basis for the procuratorate's new case against his client.

Under Articles 165 through 168 of the CPL, the procuratorate may request postponement of trial proceedings if it requires more time to investigate the case. Trial proceedings may be postponed for a maximum of seven months from the date of the initial indictment. However, under Article 143 of the CPL, if the procuratorate decides to withdraw its case, the suspect must be "released immediately."

For additional information about Zhao's case, see the CECC's analysis of his detention and initial indictment. See also the CECC's analysis of international and domestic scrutiny of his case.