The family of a Chinese-born Australian writer who was convicted of spying and given a suspended death sentence says he will not appeal.
Yang Hengjun has been in custody since he was arrested in the southern city of Guangzhou on a flight from New York in 2019. He was sentenced earlier this month in a Beijing court, nearly three years after he was tried in a secret hearing.
His family and close friends issued a statement Wednesday saying Yang has decided to waive his right to appeal his sentence because it would delay the possibility of receiving “adequate medical care after five years of inhumane treatment” and “neglect.” He has developed a serious kidney condition during his detention.
The statement also said Yang did not believe an appeal would remedy his “unjust” sentence.
A suspended death sentence in China is usually commuted to life imprisonment after two years of good behavior.
Yang, who blogged about democracy and Chinese affairs and wrote spy novels, has always denied allegations of espionage, or that he worked as a spy for Australia or the United States. He was a visiting scholar at Columbia University at the time of his arrest.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong issued a statement saying Canberra understood the “difficult decision” Yang made to waive his appeal.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters.
