The Chinese Australian writer Yang Hengjun has been sentenced to death by a court in China.
Yang Hengjun
Yang Hengjun, a pro-democracy activist, has been detained for the past five years. His death sentence will likely be commuted to life imprisonment after two years of “good behaviour”.
The decision was announced by Senator Penny Wong, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. She described the news as “harrowing” and said the Chinese Ambassador had been summoned so that the government can protest the sentence, but that diplomatic relations would be maintained.
Watch Wong’s press conference (9m)
Listen to Wong’s press conference (9m)