(B) Confession does not equal being guilty. Nobody should be forced to plead guilty. It is a travesty of law and legally untenable to take confession, especially those made under pressure, as evidence of crime. Gao Yu’s so-called confession should be dismissed as illegally obtained evidence. It is unlawful for the Third Beijing Intermediate People’s Court to base its conviction on Gao Yu’s confession made under pressure. They have arbitrarily declared Gao Yu guilty while knowing she is innocent.
(C) The officially declared secrets leaked by Gao Yu were no longer secrets because they had been made public in full by the Chinese authorities and had been picked up by many websites. Therefore, there existed no legal basis for a secret trial for confidentiality concerns. As far as we know, Gao Yu’s trial was a secret one. By that logic, any legal case would be tried in the name of confidentiality, and thus defendant rights would not be fully protected.
(D) The Court refused to use authentic evidence provided by the defendant lawyer, and it obviously favored the prosecutor.
2) Judgment on the merits concerning this care is wrong, because:
(A) There is no sufficient evidence for the need to classify the alleged “leaked” document as state secrets. In addition, the so-called “Document No.9” is one of the documents pertaining to the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The prosecutors have never provided any legal proceedings to prove the classification of any document pertaining to this organization as state secrets.
(B) There is insufficient evidence to prove that Gao Yu “leaked” this document abroad.
(C) Even if Gao Yu did leak the “Document No.9” abroad, she is not guilty of the charge against her. On the contrary, what Gao Yu allegedly did would reflect her as duty of a journalist and conscience citizen.
We further believe the following:
The charge of leaking state secrets tells the world what Gao Yu allegedly did was just revealing the truth. The heavy sentencing against Gao Yu is yet another message from the Chinese authorities to all media, journalists and citizens – Do not disclose anything against the will of the Chinese authorities; any offender, even a person as old as 70, will be treated with the iron fist of dictatorship. This blatantly violates the freedom of the press, the freedom of expression, and the public’s right to know.
“Document No.9” impacts lives of the general public, and citizens have the right to demand disclosure of information of the government led by the ruling party, which ought to be subject to public scrutiny. The Chinese authorities failed to do what they are obliged to by not disclosing the concerned information; instead, they did what they are not allowed by illegally arresting and trying Gao Yu. This reflects the Chinese rulers’ lack of self-confidence, for they know what is revealed in “Document No.9”, the seven taboos, are against the historical trend and violate universal values. Their guilty consciences make themselves cowards, who responded to Gao Yu’s revelation of truths by heavily sentencing her.
Gao Yu once said, “In twenty years, I will still be an egg throwing myself against the rock of dictatorship.” Facing the rock of dictatorship and severe punishment, she is as calm as ever. She is China’s conscience and the backbone of the nation.
Citizen Power will tirelessly pay close attention to the development of Gao Yu’s case.
We call on all journalists, media, governments and NGOs to make your voices heard for Gao Yu. We urge the Chinese government to immediately and unconditionally release Gao Yu.
We call on the Chinese government and the Chinese judiciary to respect the rule of law and protect human rights effectively.
April 17, 2015