Beijing court hears Gao Yu's appeal

A Beijing court on Tuesday heard the appeal of a 71-year-old Chinese journalist imprisoned on a conviction of leaking state secrets, but made no immediate ruling, the journalist's lawyer said.

Lawyer Shang Baojun said he could not discuss Tuesday's closed hearing on Gao Yu's case by the city's high court, but said that he expected a court decision to be announced in early December.

Gao, 71, is a well-known government critic who wrote about politics, economics and social issues for media in Hong Kong and overseas. She has already served time in prison on state secrets charges more than two decades ago. 

In April, amid a widening clampdown on free speech, she was sentenced to seven years in prison after being 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.

The magazine, Mingjing News, has said Gao did not provide the document.

Foreign governments and human rights groups have denounced the verdict against Gao as politically driven and urged authorities to release the elderly journalist, who is in poor health with heart problems.

Shang said Gao's health appeared to be stable at Tuesday's hearing, and that the lawyers would wait for the ruling on the appeal before deciding if they should apply for medical parole.

Al Jazeera with The Associated Press