Chinese courts have rejected an appeal by a blind activist and a researcher for The New York Times in two cases that have attracted international attention as examples of government retribution against dissent.
The courts rejected the appeal from Zhao Yan, the Times researcher who reported on official corruption and peasant rights before he joined the newspaper. They upheld the four-year prison term of activist Chen Guangcheng, who documented cases of forced abortions.
"It's just a very bad day for justice in China," said Mickey Spiegel, a researcher for the New York-based group Human Rights Watch. "The decisions ... have very little to do with justice and have everything to do with politics."
The Beijing High Court delivered its judgment on Zhao's appeal in a five-minute session, his lawyer Guan Anping said in a telephone interview.
"Do you have anything to say?" the judge asked Zhao according to a report on the Times Web site, which cited unnamed witnesses.
"What kind of judge are you?" Zhao answered. "Is this how you use the power the country gave you?"
Zhao was convicted of fraud in August and sentenced to three years in prison, but he was acquitted of a more serious charge of revealing state secrets, which could have resulted in a 10-year prison term.
His case comes amid efforts by China's communist government to tighten controls on the media. Dozens of reporters have been harassed and jailed, often on charges of violating the country's vague secrecy and security laws.
Last week, the Beijing High Court rejected an appeal by a Hong Kong reporter working for Singapore's The Straits Times newspaper jailed by the mainland on spying charges.
The New York Times had no immediate comment on the ruling but said it would issue a statement later.
Meanwhile, the Yinan County court in Shandong province upheld its decision to sentence Chen, who was blinded by a fever in infancy and taught himself law in order to fight discrimination against himself and handicapped farmers.
The ruling came in a 30-minute session where no witnesses or evidence were presented, said the activist's brother Chen Guangfu, the only family member allowed to attend the proceedings.
"I feel that this sentence is so unfair," said Chen, whose mother and other brother were barred from the courtroom by court officials.
He said Chen Guangcheng stayed silent except to request an appeal after the judgment was read.