China condemns journalists seven years in prison for espionage

China condemns journalists seven years in prison for espionage

A court in Beijing sentenced the experienced journalist Dong Yuyu to seven years in prison on Friday, as a family member told Reuters. Dong, the former Guangming Daily editor and 62 years old, was arrested by the police in Beijing in February 2022, while at lunch with a Japanese diplomat. This was reported by the US National Press Club.

arrest and indictment

The arrest of Dong Yuyu took place in an environment in which a strict police presence before the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court ruled where at least seven police vehicles were parked nearby. Reuters journalists were asked to leave the area. A US diplomat told Reuters that they were denied access to the negotiation. Dong has been detained in a prison in Beijing since a closed hearing in July 2023 and was waiting for the judgment.

interactions with diplomats

The journalist regularly had personal encounters with foreign diplomats from various messages and with journalists. The Japanese diplomat, with which Dong met, was also held for several hours, which led to a severe complaint by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed this incident that the diplomat "performed activities that were not compatible with his status in China". The diplomat was later released.

career and academic achievements

Dong Yuyu took part in the renowned Harvard Nieman Fellowship and was a visiting scientist and a visiting professor at the Keio University and the Hokkaido University in Japan, as was recorded in a explanation of his family in April 2023. After completing the legal faculty of the Beijing University in 1987, he joined the communist, party member Guangming Daily and was a deputy editor-in-chief of the comment department.

writing activity and reaction to the arrest

he wrote opinion articles in Chinese media and in liberal journals on topics from legal reforms up to social issues and was a co -author of a book that supported the rule of law in China. His articles supported moderate reforms without direct criticism of the Chinese head of state Xi Jinping. The von Dong family initially kept the news of his arrest secret, hoping that the charges could be mitigated or dropped. In March 2023, however, they were informed that his case would be brought to court.

calls for release

Various non -governmental organizations (NGOs) for freedom of the press have requested his release. An online petition for his release has collected over 700 signatures from journalists, academics and NGO employees. Ann Marie Lipinski, curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at the Harvard University, expressed: "Dong Yuyu is a talented reporter and author, whose work has been valued for a long time both at home and abroad. We are hoping for his release and return to his family."

similar cases of arrests

In February, the Australian writer and Pro Democracy blogger Yang Hengjun became a sentenced death penalty . Such incidents throw a great light on the difficulties with which journalists and academics are faced in China.