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The researcher, Zhao Yan, 44, was tried at the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, but his family, friends and journalists were denied access to the hearing, which was completed in a single day. Mr. Zhao has denied the charges. If found guilty, he could face more than 10 years in prison. After the trial, Mr. Zhao's lawyer, Mo Shaoping, said a judge sitting on the case had warned that the proceedings were regarded as a state secret and could not be discussed outside the court. Another one of Mr. Zhao's lawyers, Guan Anping, said the law allowed the court to deliberate for up to a month before releasing a verdict. Outside the court, Mr. Zhao's sister, Zhao Kun, and a group of his friends waited for news of the researcher, who has been in custody for 22 months. "I've been here since 8 a.m., but I haven't been able to see him," she said. Mr. Zhao's supporters had passes issued by court officials to enter the building but said they had been barred from the courtroom. Plainclothes police officers escorted journalists out of the imposing stone courthouse in suburban Beijing. Mr. Zhao, a veteran journalist and activist, was working in the Beijing bureau of The Times when he was arrested. The charges against him are linked to an article published in The Times on Sept. 7, 2004, that accurately predicted top-level leadership changes in the ruling Communist Party. The Times also denies that Mr. Zhao disclosed state secrets. Mr. Zhao's lawyers applied to the court today for Joseph Kahn, bureau chief for The Times in Beijing and writer of the Sept. 7 article, to be called as a defense witness. This application was denied. The International Herald Tribune is owned by The New York Times Company.
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