
Gao Yu appealed her April conviction for leaking state secrets on Tuesday at Beijing’s high court. Her lawyer Shang Baojun said the court announced on Thursday that her sentence would be reduced.
Gao was convicted of sharing with an overseas news magazine a document detailing the Communist Party leadership’s resolve to aggressively target constitutionality, press freedoms and groups that seek to change society but operate outside the party.
Foreign governments and human rights groups have denounced the verdict again Gao as politically driven and urged authorities to release the elderly journalist, who is in poor health with heart problems.


