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Lawyer: Rio Tinto exec not to appeal sentence
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Lawyer: Rio Tinto exec not to appeal sentence
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer -
Friday, April 9
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SHANGHAI – A jailed Australian former Rio Tinto executive has opted not to appeal his 10-year sentence for bribery and commercial spying, his lawyer said Thursday, in a case that rattled foreign businesses and prompted Australia to criticize secrecy surrounding the trial.
In a brief text message, lawyer Jin Chunqing said Stern Hu told him of his decision in a meeting at the Shanghai detention house. He did not comment further.
Hu, the manager in charge of Rio Tinto's China iron ore business, and three Chinese coworkers were detained in July during contentious price negotiations with Chinese steel mills. They pleaded guilty but observers said their sentences were unusually severe, especially for a case involving civilian business dealings. Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith called Hu's penalty "very harsh."
Australia's foreign ministry said the decision not to appeal was "a matter for Stern Hu and his lawyers."
"We respect his decision. We will continue to provide Mr. Hu with all consular assistance," said a ministry statement.
The case was closely watched abroad and some questioned whether it signaled a worsening environment for foreign businesses in China.
Thursday was the deadline to appeal the court's March 29 verdict. Lawyers for Hu's three Chinese coworkers said they will appeal their sentences of between seven and 14 years.
"We think the sentence is much too tough," said Tao Wuping, a lawyer for Liu Caikui, who was sentenced to seven years.
Zhai Jian, lawyer for Ge Minqiang, also decided to appeal. Zhai would not comment further.
Wang Yong, who was sentenced to 14 years, also decided to appeal.
Rio Tinto spokesman David Luff said the company had no comment on Hu's decision not to appeal.
Si Weijiang, a prominent lawyer and blogger in Shanghai who was not involved in the Rio Tinto case, said Hu might have felt he would gain nothing by attempting to appeal.
"Hu might not hold any hope for the sentence change, and if it changes, it might go even tougher, I'm afraid," Si wrote on his blog.
The Australian government protested the court's decision to close hearings regarding charges the four stole commercial secrets.
London-based Rio Tinto is a key industry negotiator in price talks with China's state-owned steel mills, and the arrests of its employees were initially thought linked to Beijing's anger over high prices it paid for iron ore _ a key commodity for China's booming economy. That belief was shaken after the four pleaded guilty to taking bribes from steel mills trying to get preferential access to ore supplies.
Rio Tinto fired all four after the court convicted them following a three-day trial in March.
The case came as faultlines appear between Beijing and global corporations eager to tap a fast-growing market of more than 1 billion people. A recent survey showed a growing number of foreign businesses in China feel shut out under government policies promoting homegrown technology. Internet search giant Google's high-profile decision to move its Chinese site to Hong Kong after a spat over censorship and hacking added to the unease.
Chinese media reports say authorities plan to prosecute Chinese business figures, mostly working for steel mills, who are alleged to have given bribes to the Rio Tinto employees in exchange for favorable deals on iron ore shipments.
The Rio Tinto arrests came at a time when Beijing and its state-affiliated steel industry association are trying to turn China's status as the world's biggest steel producer into leverage to press global iron ore suppliers for price cuts. The Chinese industry group pushed in vain last year for the suppliers to give Chinese mills deeper price cuts than those agreed to by Japanese and Korean mills.
Industry analysts have suggested the investigation that led to the Rio Tinto employees' arrests might have begun as part of government efforts to tighten control over China's sprawling steel industry and the release of sales and production data that might help foreign miners in price talks.
China's iron ore imports soared nearly 42 percent in 2009 from a year earlier to 630 million tons. Analysts say traders were building up stockpiles in anticipation of the collapse of annual contracts and sharply higher prices this year.
___
Associated Press researcher Ji Chen contributed to this report.
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