Two prominent prisoners of conscience in China have recently been sentenced to prison terms for alleged illegal activities during the 1989 pro- democracy protests. Both had been detained without trial for more than three years. Bao Tong, a senior official of the Chinese Communist Party and a close associate of former CCP General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, was sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment on 21 July. He was charged with “leaking state secrets” and “counter-revolutiona ry propaganda”. Gao Shan was sentenced to four years for “leaking state secrets” on 5 August 1992. Both trials were held in secret; AI fears that they may not have conformed to international standards for fair trial. AI considers both prisoners of conscience and is calling for their unconditional release.
