Jailed Chinese journalist Gao Yu released early on medical parole

Gao Yu, a veteran Chinese journalist and contributor to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, was released on medical parole on November 26, 2015, after being imprisoned for more than 580 days, according to news reports.

Gao was convicted by a Beijing court on April 17, 2015 of leaking state secrets abroad, and was sentenced to seven years in jail, according to reports. The sentence was later reduced to five years, after a court ruled she had “confessed to and repented her crimes.” A court ordered her conditional release due to “serious illness,” according to Xinhua, China’s state press agency. Gao, who was first detained in April 2014, suffers from heart disease, high blood pressure, and Meniere’s disease, which can cause severe dizziness.