China bible smuggler 'appeals conviction'

Li Guangqiang from Hong Kong received two years

A Chinese Christian jailed for three years for smuggling bibles is reportedly to appeal his conviction.

Yu Zhudi was convicted last month for his part in bringing thousands of bibles to a religious group banned in China.

[Yu] claimed he is innocent and was forced to make a confession of guilt

Fuzhou court official

Another Chinese man also received a three-year sentence, while a Hong Kong businessman, Li Guangqiang was jailed for two years.

The case threatens to disrupt the planned visit to Beijing later this month by US President George W Bush - the US State Department has raised concerns about human rights in China in the wake of the convictions.

A court official in the south-eastern city of Fuzhou said on Wednesday: "He [Yu] claimed that he is innocent and was forced to make a confession of guilt."

He said the court had not decided whether to accept or reject the appeal, the Associated Press reported.

US pressure

Li Guangqiang was placed at the top of Washington's list of dissidents it wanted released after his arrest last May.

He was originally accused of spreading "an evil cult" - a crime that can carry the death penalty in China.

But in January this year the charges were suddenly downgraded to charges of illegal trading - correspondents say US pressure could have been behind the change.

China has rejected US concerns over the case, saying no other country should interfere with China's judicial independence.

The US State Department had called on Beijing to meet the standards on freedom of religious expression laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

'Shouters'

The three men were involved with smuggling the bibles to a group called the Shouters, a evangelical group in south-eastern China. Followers shout out their devotion.

It is one of the fastest-growing underground religious organisations in China and is believed to have around 500,000 followers.

In 1995 the organisation was banned as an "aberrant religious organisation".