A court in Beijing pronounced a suspended death sentence on Monday to Yang Hengjun, an Australian-Chinese writer, on charges of espionage, according to Reuters.Mr Yang, a pro-democracy blogger, was arrested at Guangzhou airport in 2019. A former employee of Chinas Ministry of State Security from 1989-1999, he had been accused of spying for an unnamed country. Details of the case against him were not made public.The 53-year-old, who gained a large following in exile for his spy novels and calls for greater freedom in his homeland, denied the allegations. He told supporters he was tortured at a secret detention facility and feared forced confessions may be used against him, AFP reported.The court found Yang Jun guilty of espionage, sentenced him to death with a two-year suspended execution, and confiscated all his personal property, Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday.What is a suspended death sentenceUnder a suspended death sentence in China, the convicted individual remains imprisoned throughout a two-year reprieve period, after which the sentence is automatically converted to life imprisonment or, less commonly, a fixed prison term.
