China sentences journalist for ‘leaking state secrets’ News
China sentences journalist for ‘leaking state secrets’

[JURIST] A Chinese court on Friday sentenced [press release] 71-year-old freelance journalist Gao Yu to seven years in prison for ‘leaking state secrets’ to foreign contacts. Yu has been detained since April 2014, and maintains that she is innocent. The sentence has been met with criticism. An official for the European Union Delegation to China [official website] remarked that the sentence “has heightened [the Delegation to China’s] concern on the situation of human rights defenders in China, including lawyers and journalists.” As Yu was leaving the court after sentencing, she reportedly told her lawyer [Reuters report] that she plans to appeal her sentence. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) [advocacy website], Yu is one of 44 imprisoned journalists [CPJ statement] in China.

Since the appointment of President Xi Jinping in 2013, China has set out on a campaign against corruption. Earlier this month China’s former national security chief Zhou Yongkang was charged [JURIST report] with bribery, abuse of power and disclosing state secrets. Last month the Chinese government announced [JURIST report] the conviction and investigation of 14 generals for corrupt financial practices. In February Chinese officials announced plans to prosecute [JURIST report] Su Rong, former vice-chairman of the country’s top parliamentary advisory body, for graft, including taking bribes and selling ranks and titles. China has also set out to reform its court system in recent months. Last October China announced [JURIST report] a blueprint for judicial reform aimed at giving judges more independence and limiting the influence of local officials over courts. Guidelines for the reform were released [JURIST report] the following week. In February China’s Supreme People’s Court [official website, in Chinese] announced a five-year comprehensive legal reform plan [JURIST report] to make the judiciary more impartial, fair, independent and accountable as a way to emphasize the rule of law and “safeguard national unity.”

THIS DAY @ LAW

Alberto Fujimori born

On July 28, 1938, Alberto Fujimori was born in Lima, Peru. Fujimori became President of Peru exactly 62 years later on July 28, 1990 and served until November 22, 2000, when he fled to Japan under a cloud of allegations involving corruption and human-rights violations. Fujimori was widely credited with restoring Peru's economy and national security during his time in office but was convicted in 2007 of ordering an illegal search and seizure and sentenced to 6 years in prison. In 2009, he was also convicted in a separate trial of human rights violations stemming from his war against domestic terrorists during his time in office. Learn more about Alberto Fujimori and his trial from the archives of the New York Times.

Fourteenth Amendment ratified

On July 28, 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, granting citizenship to former slaves and protecting due process of law and equal protection of laws in the States, was ratified. Learn more about the history of the Fourteenth Amendment.