China gives suspended death sentence to Chinese Australian democracy blogger Yang Hengjun

By KEN MORITSUGU and KEIRAN SMITH
Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese court has given a suspended death sentence to a China-born Australian democracy blogger. The Australian government, which has repeatedly raised his case over the years, said it was appalled. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson says the court found Yang Hengjun guilty of espionage and sentenced him to death with a two-year reprieve. Such sentences are often commuted to life in prison. Yang was detained in 2019 after traveling to China with his family. A closed-door trial was held in 2021. Yang was born in China and worked previously as a diplomat. He became an Australian citizen in 2002.