By: The trial of a Chinese researcher for The New York Times accused of leaking state secrets has been postponed with no new date announced, his lawyer said Wednesday.
A preliminary date for Zhao Yan's trial had been set for Thursday by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court. But his lawyer, Mo Shaoping, said the court notified him the hearing was being delayed.
Mo said the court told him the delay was in response to his request to summon a new witness. He did not reveal the name of the witness, and he said the court did not set a new trial date.
Zhao, an investigative reporter for several Chinese publications before joining the Times as a researcher, was detained in 2004 after the newspaper reported on Chinese leader Jiang Zemin's plans to relinquish his post as head of the military.
Mo met with Zhao on Tuesday at the state security detention house where he is being held.
"I was told by him that both his physical and mental conditions were not good," the lawyer said.
The government has not released details of the case, as is common for cases involving state secrets. Zhao's case has also taken on a political dimension, with the Times lobbying the Bush administration and other U.S. political figures to press for his release.
Zhao's case was dismissed in March ahead of a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Washington, an apparent effort to help smooth over U.S.-Chinese relations.
Zhao was not released, however, and two weeks ago prosecutors filed identical charges of leaking state secrets and fraud.
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