Zheng Enchong, a local attorney sentenced on Tuesday to three years' jail for releasing State secrets to organizations abroad, will appeal the verdict, his lawyer said Thursday.

"We will definitely lodge an appeal,'' said Guo Guoting, Zheng's defence lawyer.

Zheng's sentencing came four months after he was arrested while handling a lawsuit involving local property tycoon Zhou Zhengyi, suspected by authorities of illegal financial dealings. The verdict was handed down after a closed-door trial, as the law stipulates in cases involving confidential State information.

Zheng has 10 days to appeal.

Major local Chinese-language newspapers published on Wednesday a long report, claiming Zheng had been operating without a licence since 2001. The local Huangpu district judicial bureau reportedly ruled that Zheng lost the rights to his working certificate when he quit his former job with the Siwei Law Firm.

However, the report said Zheng continued to handle litigation irrespective of the bureau's decision.

It also said Zheng had never reported corruption scandals involving real estate tycoon Zhou Zhengyi and senior local officials to the authorities, as some overseas media have asserted.

The report quoted Zheng as saying he had collected and disclosed State secrets and claimed he was fighting corruption to regain his lawyer's licence and build up personal influence.

Guo said his client "didn't think the information should be defined as State secrets.''

Officials of the Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court, which handled the first trial, as well as the Huangpu District Judicial Bureau, refused to comment on the case.

According to China's Criminal Law, a person found guilty of illegally obtaining and providing state secrets to organizations and people abroad could be jailed for life.

Guo said Zheng, 53, had been handling legal affairs in the property sector for about 12 years, focusing on disputes arising from relocation or redevelopment projects.

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