A Chinese court has sentenced an Australian activist, Yang Hengjun, to a suspended death sentence over charges of spying on the Asian nation.

The sentence was imposed on Yang as he has been imprisoned in China since 2019 over charges he has continued to deny. The sentencing was confirmed by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Australian Activist Handed With Suspended Death Sentence

The court's sentence on Yang is a suspended sentence that can be converted to a life sentence after two years, pending good behavior. The Australian government has petitioned for the release of the activist, who is an Australian citizen and writer.

Wong has called the Chinese court's decision on the matter "harrowing" and "appalling" and summoned China's ambassador for an explanation. The senator added that Yang had further appeal avenues available to him and that the Australian government would continue to advocate on his behalf.

In 2021, Australian officials were unable to attend the democracy activist's closed trial. Wong said that they have consistently called for basic standards of justice, procedural fairness, and humane treatment of Yang in accordance with international norms and China's legal obligations, as per ABC.net.

A supporter of Yang issued a statement saying that his family was "shocked and devastated by this news." It noted that it comes at the extreme end of worst expectations, adding that it would take time for them to process the development.

There have also been concerns regarding the condition of the 58-year-old activist's health as he has a large cyst on one of his kidneys. Yang's family wrote last year to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warning that his health was rapidly declining and pleading with him to do "all in his power" to secure the activist's release during his China visit.

China's decision to release former state TV anchor Cheng Lei also briefly stoked optimism among some supporters of Yang. They were hoping that Beijing would do something similar for the democracy activist.

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Calling Out Human Rights Abuses in China

Yang's PhD supervisor in Australia, Feng Chongyi, said that the Australian government should apply for medical parole on humanitarian grounds. He added that his former student's sentence was an "outrageous political persecution," according to The Guardian.

He noted that Yang did not commit any crime of espionage, noting that he was only being punished by the Chinese government over his criticism of human rights abuses in the Asian country as well as his advocacy for universal values such as human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

The democracy activist's detention in China has been a key point of friction between the two nations' governments. Yang's family said that he was subjected to more than 300 interrogations over 18 months, six of which included intense torture.

Feng noted that Yang had previously worked for the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) at the provincial level for 14 years. He then started writing spy novels as he became more frustrated with his work.

He then moved to Australia in 2000 and began studying five years later under Feng at the University of Technology Sydney. That is where he "transformed himself into a liberal." At the time that he was detained by China, he was working in New York, said Aljazeera.

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