"Shocking!"

China: Death sentence for Australian journalist

Yang Hengjun with his wife Yuan Xiaoliang(Bild: AP)

A court in Beijing sentenced the Australian journalist Yang Hengjun to death on Monday and suspended the sentence. Yang's family is shocked and devastated by the news, said a spokesperson for the family in Sydney. The Australian government reacted with horror.

The trial took place behind closed doors. Australia had summoned China's ambassador, said Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Monday. Yang Hengjun is an Australian citizen, but was born in China. He was an online journalist and 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 ever since. Espionage is punishable by death in China.

Yang Hengjun with his wife Yuan Xiaoliang(Bild: AP)

Australia's government has reacted with dismay to the death sentence handed down by a Chinese court to the writer Yang Hengjun. The government is "appalled" that the Australian citizen was given a suspended death sentence in Beijing on Monday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced in Canberra.

Read the statement by the chief diplomat:

According to the statement, the Australian government assumes that the sentence can be commuted to life imprisonment after a two-year probation period. There was initially no comment on the case from the Chinese side.

Beijing ignores criticism
The Australian Foreign Ministry had already strongly criticized China's prison conditions and asked that Hengjun be treated according to international standards. The government in Beijing then called on Australia not to interfere.