A court in Beijing sentenced Australian journalist Yang Hengjun to death on Monday and suspended the sentence. Yang’s family was shocked and devastated by the news, a family spokesperson in Sydney said. The Australian government reacted with horror.
The trial took place behind closed doors. Australia has summoned the Chinese ambassador, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Monday. Yang Hengjun is an Australian national, but was born in China. He was an online journalist and a former Chinese diplomat. He wrote about Chinese and American politics and also wrote a series of spy novels before his arrest.
Arrested for espionage
In August 2019, he was arrested at Guangzhou airport on suspicion of espionage and has been in custody since. Espionage is punishable by death in China.
The Australian government has reacted with dismay to a Chinese court’s death sentence against writer Yang Hengjun. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in Canberra that the government was “shocked” that the Australian citizen was given a suspended death sentence in Beijing on Monday.
The chief diplomat’s statement to read:
According to the statement, the Australian government expects the sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment after two years’ probation. There was initially no statement from the Chinese side on the matter.
Beijing ignores criticism
Australia’s Foreign Ministry had already strongly criticized conditions in Chinese prisons and asked that Hengjun be treated in accordance with international standards. The government in Beijing then asked Australia not to interfere.
Source: Krone
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