Chinese Court Convicts Journalist for "Disclosing State Secrets"

March 18, 2005

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reports that on March 11, a Chinese court found the journalist Shi Tao guilty of "disclosing state secrets." He is due to be sentenced on March 25. Under Chinese law Shi could be sentenced to between 10 years to life.

According to RSF, the trial was closed to the public. Also, Shi's attorney, Guo Guoting, was not able to defend Shi because Chinese authorities revoked Guo's law license on February 24. Authorities placed him under house arrest earlier this week.

Shi Tao was arrested in November 2004 as part of a government crackdown on public intellectuals.