A matter of law

11 August 2009 By Una Galani Follow @ugalani

Under Chinese law, the July 5 detention of four Rio executives has to be officially approved, and explained, by this week. It s a chance for China to show it s willing to follow its own rulebook and for the miner to get some idea of how serious the charges against it are.

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Rio Tinto on August 11 said no charges have been formally announced against the four employees of the AngloAustralian miner who were detained on July 5 by the Shanghai State Security Bureau in connection with the supposed theft of state secrets.

The miner received official notification of the detention of Australian Stern Hu, Rio's chief iron ore negotiator, and three Chinese nationals on July 6. China has since granted Australian consular officials two visits to Hu as per the terms of the Republic's bilateral treaty with Australia.

Article 69 of the People's Republic of China's Criminal Procedure Law provides:

"If the public security organ deems it necessary to arrest a detainee… involved in crimes committed from one place to another, repeatedly, or in a gang, the time limit for submitting a request for examination and approval may be extended to 30 days. The People's Procuratorate shall decide either to approve or disapprove the arrest within seven days from the date of receiving the written request for approval of arrest submitted by a public security organ."

August 11 is 37 calendar days after July 6.

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