Australia urges China to release jailed journalist

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called on China on Saturday (August 12) to release Australian journalist Cheng Lei. Albanese said he was worried about Lei's condition. She has been behind bars for three years.

In a note dictated to Australian officials from her cell, Cheng Lei has described her bleak prison conditions. She said she misses trees and sunlight but "most of all I miss my children".

Cheng's partner Nick Coyle on Thursday shared the message with Australian news outlets and on the social media platform X.

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PM Albanese said he was concerned about Cheng's welfare.

"I certainly am, and Cheng should be released. This is three years too long," he said.

"Cheng Lei is an Australian citizen. She is someone who does not deserve this treatment," he told reporters during a visit to Queensland.

The PM added that Australia had taken up the matter at the "highest levels" and would continue to do so "whenever Australia meets with China".

"It is important that her human rights as an Australian citizen be respected," the prime minister said. Albanese has been invited to visit China though no date has been set.

Albanese told journalists on Friday that Cheng's release would not be made a condition for his trip to go ahead, saying such visits "should not be transactional".

Cheng is a former anchor for Chinese state broadcaster CGTN. She has been detained since August 2020. She has been formally arrested in February 2021.

She was formally charged with "supplying state secrets overseas" but no further details have been given.

Her detention came at a time of difficult relations between Australia and China, raising speculation it was politically motivated.

China claimed on Friday that Cheng Lei's case was being handled "in strict accordance with the law", and that Cheng's legal rights were being fully protected.

"It is hoped that the Australian side will respect China's judicial sovereignty and refrain from any type of interference in the lawful handling of the case by Chinese judicial organs," a spokesperson told AFP in a written statement.

Cheng was tried last March behind closed doors, with even Australia's ambassador to China blocked from entering the court to observe proceedings.

The court deferred the verdict and Cheng's sentence, which could extend to life in prison.

(With inputs from agencies)

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