Researcher jailed for 20 years
20 December 2006
A former media commentator and researcher at the China Academy of Social Sciences has been jailed for 20 years for leaking state secrets, AFP reported, citing the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy. Lu Jianhua was sentenced in a closed hearing at a Beijing court on Monday after being found guilty in a 90-minute trial on August 16. Lu was forced to rely on a court-appointed lawyer to defend him, the center said. It also claimed that Lu's case was connected to that of Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong, who was given a five-year jail sentence in August having been found guilty of spying for Taiwan. Lu had written several articles for Ching's newspaper, the Singapore Straits Times, some of which state investigators said contained "high-level state secrets".