A former Chinese language state media journalist has been sentenced on Friday to seven years in jail for espionage, his household has confirmed to the BBC.
Dong Yuyu, 62, who has been detained since 2022, was lively in educational and journalism circles within the US and Japan and met commonly with international diplomats.
He was having lunch with a Japanese diplomat in Beijing when he was arrested by police.
On the time of his detention, Dong had been a senior employees member of the Guangming Every day, one of many 5 main newspapers linked to the Chinese language Communist Celebration.
In February 2022, Dong was arrested whereas having lunch with a Japanese diplomat the day after the Winter Olympics resulted in Beijing, at a restaurant the place he had usually met international pals.
The diplomat was additionally detained – then launched a number of hours later amid protests from the Japanese authorities.
Dong met commonly with different journalists and international diplomats as a part of his job.
His household mentioned in an announcement that in response to a courtroom judgement, two different Japanese diplomats Dong met with have been named as “brokers of an espionage organisation”, which is the Japanese embassy.
“We’re shocked that the Chinese language authorities would blatantly deem a international embassy an ‘espionage group'”, mentioned his household’s assertion.
“At the moment’s verdict is a grave injustice not solely to Yuyu and his household but additionally to each freethinking Chinese language journalist and each bizarre Chinese language dedicated to pleasant engagement with the world,” they added.
The Beijing courtroom the place Dong was sentenced on Friday had a robust safety presence, Reuters reported, as journalists have been requested to depart and a diplomat mentioned they weren’t allowed to attend the listening to.
“Prior to now, the Chinese language courtroom system has chosen Western holidays to launch information as it’s a time when the general public is targeted on different issues,” the US Nationwide Press Membership mentioned in an announcement on Tuesday, forward of Dong’s sentencing on Thanksgiving night time within the US.
Whereas Dong’s trial had been accomplished in July 2023, he was held with no verdict and barred from seeing his household, the press membership mentioned.
Rights teams and advocates have criticised his conviction and referred to as for him to be launched.
“Chinese language authorities should reverse this unjust verdict, and shield the best of journalists to work freely and safely in China,” Beh Lih Yi, Asia program supervisor on the Committe to Defend Journalists advised Reuters.
“Dong Yuyu must be reunited along with his household instantly.”
Dong joined the Guangming Every day after graduating from Peking College’s regulation college in 1987.
In 1989, he was certainly one of tens of hundreds of scholars who participated within the Tiananmen Sq. protests. He was later sentenced to onerous labour, however stored his job on the newspaper, in response to a household assertion.
He finally rose to turn out to be deputy head of the editorial division, and was among the many most pro-reform voices at Guangming Every day, the assertion added.
A Nieman fellow at Harvard College in 2007, Dong had additionally written a number of articles for the New York Occasions and was beforehand a visiting fellow and professor at a number of Japanese universities.