Chinese court reduces journalist's jail term to 5yrs

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Chinese court hears journalist's appeal - © Jerome Favre, EPA
A Chinese appeal court has cut the jail term of veteran journalist Gao Yu from seven to five years, her lawyer Mo Shaoping said Thursday.
Gao, 71, was known for her hard-hitting reports on elite politics and was a regular contributor to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, reports dpa.
She was found guilty in April of passing documents to people outside the country.
The nature of the documents had not been confirmed but it appears to have been due to passing on party documents in which there was a call for a fight against Western ideas.
"The defence has always said that Gao Yu is not guilty," Mo Shaoping said.
Gao suffers from heart-related problems and her health has deteriorated in prison.
Her health was "still bad," Mo said.
The rare appeal hearing for Gao came after an outcry from journalists and international human rights activists angry at her sentencing and imprisonment earlier this year.
The German government has repeatedly called for her release.
"I call on the Chinese government to release all those who, like Gao Yu, peacefully exercise their right to freedom of expression," said the German government's human rights commissioner Christoph Straesser.
China has the largest number of journalists currently held behind bars, at 44, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

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