On April 30, 2005, at 10 a.m. Beijing time, Shi Tao, an independent journalist from Shanxi Province, was sentenced to ten years in prison by the Changsha City Intermediate People’s Court for “illegally providing national secrets to the parties abroad.”

On March 11, the first court hearing on Shi Tao’s case was held at the Intermediate People’s Court in Changsha City, Hunan Province. Shi Tao was found guilty and the Court said that it would hand down a judgment within 15 days. The entire trial occurred in secret. Two of Shi Tao’s brothers and their mother made a special trip to Changsha from Ningxia but were barred from the hearing.

Xinfei, a reporter for The Epoch Times, interviewed Shi Tao’s mother and one of his brothers, Shi Hua. Shi Hua indicated that his mother and brother Shi Wei, saw Shi Tao for the first time since his arrest when they attended the sentencing. Shi Tao insisted that he would appeal the verdict after he was sentenced. His family is also considering an appeal. Shi Tao’s mother expressed her appreciation for everyone’s support. She sobbed openly as she told the reporter that she felt very sad and could not accept the verdict, and then she fainted.

The judge said that Shi Tao had caused severe damage to the country and that the sentence was the most merciful possible. Personnel from the National Security Office threatened Shi Tao’s mother, saying that the punishment was the most merciful they could hand down in an effort to dissuade the family from appealing.

Shi Tao is 36 years old. He has worked for Huabao in Shanxi, and Xi’an Business News in Taiyuan. He also wrote for the Old News, Legal Daily, and other publications, as a reporter and an editor. He has also published several anthologies of poetry. In recent years, he has written articles for media outside of China, such as the electronic publication “Democracy Forum.” He is a member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center.

Last May, while he was the director of the newsroom at The Present Age Business Report in Changsha, Hunan Province, the magazine carried an article about the corruption of local government officials. Last November, personnel from the Shanxi and Hunan National Security Bureaus took Shi Tao to Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. From there, he was sent to Changsha City, Hunan Province, and held in the detention center at the National Security Office.

After Shi Tao was arrested, the authorities confiscated his computer and documents, and then warned his family not to tell anyone about the arrest. The National Security officers from Shanxi and Changsha did not present any warrant when they searched Shi’s home.

Shi Toa’s defense attorney, Mr. Guo Guoting, said that what the authorities were doing was obviously illegal. Not long ago, Guo Guoting’s license to practice law was suspended for one year by the Judiciary Bureau and he was put under house arrest to force him to stop representing these types of cases. Because of the situation, one of Guo Guoting’s colleagues has taken over as Shi Tao’s lawyer.

The Independent Chinese PEN Center expressed their sincere concern regarding Shi Toa’s arrest. Liu Xiaobo, President of the Independent Chinese Author’s PEN Association, stated that Shi Tao was not privy to any secret information. He was only a mid-level leader in the provincial newspaper office. Shi Tao is not a member of any political party. Liu Xiaobo also indicated that the authorities would find fault with Shi Tao if they have a mind to, and that his arrest is related to the severe political fallout that started last fall.

The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed their outrage at the CCP authorities’ arrest of Shi Tao, which increased the number of reporters held by the CCP to 42. Organizations in the world such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and other individuals have appealed to the CCP authorities to release Shi Tao.