Charges against four Rio Tinto Group employees detained by China may not be made public until a trial commences, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in an e-mailed statement.
The employees include Australian citizen Stern Hu, formerly head of Rio's iron-ore market team in China. The four were arrested last July on charges that have since been downgraded from crimes against the state to industrial espionage and bribery.
The Shanghai People's Procuratorate will decide whether the matter will be brought to trial, it said. The department is not in a position to say how long this phase of the case will take, it said.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/rio-staff-charges-may-not-be-known-until-trial-dfat-20100208-nmpm.html
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