In brief
On Monday, a Prague court cleared Chinese journalist Yang Yiming of espionage charges and released him from custody, Reuters reported. The court determined his activities were not criminal and imposed no travel restrictions, although the case was appealed to a higher court. The ruling comes amid warming diplomatic ties between Prague and Beijing, with Czech officials stating the case is unrelated to other national security matters.
A Prague court acquitted and released Chinese journalist Yang Yiming on Monday after he was charged with espionage, Reuters reports.
The court ruled that Yang’s activity of building connections with Czech officials to collect information was not criminal, and it imposed no travel restrictions on him.
The state attorney appealed both the acquittal and Yang’s release, sending the case to a higher court, Reuters said.
Yang was arrested in January and accused of engaging in "unauthorised activity for a foreign power"; he denied wrongdoing and said he was not planning to leave the country, Reuters added.
Czech media indicated that Yang was a reporter for a Communist Party‑affiliated newspaper while working in Prague.
Chinese authorities demanded Yang’s release and commented on a June detention of a Czech citizen in China; Czech Foreign Minister Petr Maíka said the cases were unrelated, Reuters reported.
The decision comes amid a recent warming of diplomatic ties between Prague and Beijing, as the Czech government has adopted a more pragmatic approach towards China since last December.
