The trial of New York Times researcher Zhao Yan, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed.
Lawyer Mo Shaoping said the Beijing No2 Intermediate People's Court informed him of the postponement on Monday, three days before the preliminary trial date. 'We have asked to call a witness and re-examine a 'conclusion' which I can't tell you about now. The court has the legal right to decide [whether] to postpone the trial,' Mr Mo said. The lawyer said he was not disappointed with the postponement and it was not clear when the trial would be held.
'However, it is regretful that the authorities violated [legal] procedures and the law when they did not release Zhao immediately after they withdrew the case against him,' Mr Mo said.
Zhao is facing the same charges - divulging state secrets and financial fraud - that authorities withdrew on March 17. Prosecutors dropped the fraud charge because 'there was some evidence that needed further investigation', a court ruling said, without explaining why the state secrets charge was also dropped.
