Sichuan -based activist Huang Qi appeared before judges in a closed session. Mo Shaoping , the high-profile Beijing lawyer representing Huang, told news agencies the trial had ended without a verdict being issued.

The outspoken blogger and campaigner is best known for his work related to the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown and for assisting parents of children who died when their schools collapsed in last year's catastrophic earthquake.

Huang, 45, was arrested in June last year, charged with "unlawfully holding documents classified as highly secret", although few other details have been made public about his alleged offences.

The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said Huang had arrived at court at about 10am yesterday. It quoted Mr Mo as saying he had found two wounds on Huang's abdomen and had asked that his client be given a medical check-up.

"During the trial, Huang Qi completely denied all the charges brought against him by the prosecution," Mr Mo said. "As his lawyer, I entered a plea of not guilty because I felt that the state secrets raised in the charges did not constitute state secrets."

Huang's wife, Zeng Li , said that about 50 supporters had attempted to watch the trial but had been denied entry.

"The only reason that Huang Qi is being tried is that he helped the parents of children killed in the earthquake," Ms Zeng said, adding that she had spent the day waiting outside the court with the couple's 18-year-old son and their friends. "I hope he will be acquitted and released, but I'm afraid that may not be possible."

The magnitude-8 earthquake that hit Sichuan in May last year left nearly 88,000 dead and millions homeless.

The number of children killed in schools that collapsed has been a major point of controversy, with parents claiming corruption led to shoddy building standards.

An Amnesty International report into harassment of protesters after the earthquake said: "Huang was held incommunicado for over 100 days before his first meeting with a lawyer in September 2008. In October, he refused the authorities' offer to release him on the condition he give up his human rights work."

Huang's trial was originally scheduled for February. He spent five years in prison on subversion charges for posting sensitive material on his website. He was released in 2005.

Agence France-Presse, Associated Press