From The New York Times:
The High Court of Beijing has rejected a request by a jailed Chinese researcher for The New York Times to hold an open hearing on his appeal of his fraud conviction, a defense lawyer said today.
Instead, Guan Anping, the defense lawyer, said that prosecutors and the defense team would be limited to arguing the case through written filings, and that the High Court could rule on the appeal within two weeks.
Mr. Guan said court officials told him Thursday that he would be allowed to present written testimony from new witnesses or other new evidence.
The researcher, Zhao Yan, has maintained his innocence, and has repeatedly asked his defense team to petition the court for an open hearing, saying it is necessity for a fair review of the case. In the initial trial, Mr. Zhao’s lawyers were forbidden to question prosecution witnesses, and the lawyers had hoped for more leeway in the appeal.[Full Text]
