Yang Hengjun will not appeal against suspended death sentence

Tokyo: Australian pro-democracy writer Yang Hengjun says he will not appeal against his suspended death sentence, as his family and friends lose hope that the Chinese legal system can deliver justice for the father-of-two.

The decision, which has been formally lodged with Beijing, will allow Yang’s legal team and Australian diplomats to argue the 58-year-old should receive medical parole.

Yang Hengjun pictured with his wife in 2017.Credit: AP

Yang was given a suspended death sentence on February 5, shocking diplomats after years of closed court trials over espionage charges, which have always been denied by Yang, his family and the Australian government.

“There are no grounds to believe that the system that enabled Yang’s sustained torture and fabricated the charges against him is capable of remedying the injustice of his sentence,” his family said in a statement.

“Second, commencing an appeal would only delay the possibility of adequate and supervised medical care, after five years of inhumane treatment and abject medical neglect.”

Yang has been held in one of Beijing’s notorious detention centres since he was arrested after landing at Guangzhou airport in January 2019. Detainees held in similar conditions have said they have almost no access to natural light or visitors. They are often tortured to extract confessions for a criminal justice system that has a conviction rate of 99 per cent.

Yang has told consular officials he has endured enforced sleep deprivation, erratic medication and been strapped to a tiger chair, destroying his health while he battles a chronic condition.

“Mentally, no one can destroy me,” said Yang before his sentence was handed down. “I have broken no laws, and I can withstand the judgment of the public, conscience, history and time.”

By not appealing, Yang will be transferred to the prison system, where he is more likely to have access to medical care, family visits and books. The decision will also put further pressure on the Australian government to escalate its diplomatic response and secure his release now that his appeal avenues have been exhausted. Yang’s suspended death sentence can be commuted to life in prison after two years of good behaviour.

Australia’s ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher, was denied access to the closed court throughout Yang’s trial. Credit: AP

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she respected the difficult decision that the former University of Technology academic had made.

“We will continue to press for Dr Yang’s interests and wellbeing, and provide consular assistance to him,” she said.

In 2021, China released two Canadians jailed on national security charges – Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig – for health reasons. Spavor had earlier been sentenced to 11 years in jail, while Kovrig was never publicly given a verdict. They were released at the same time as Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was allowed to return to China by Canadian authorities. But unlike Yang, neither Kovring nor Spavor had Chinese heritage or a decades-long catalogue of sustained public criticism of the Chinese government.

In the statement, Yang’s family and supporters said his decision to forgo the appeals process did not in any way change “the fact that he is both innocent and morally unbreakable”.

“Yang Hengjun is an Australian political prisoner who has been sentenced to death because of his writings in support of individual freedoms, constitutional democracy and rule-of-law,” the statement said.

“The suspended death sentence imposed on Yang Hengjun by the Beijing Municipal No. 2 Intermediate Court is a political persecution. If Yang were dealing with a rule-of-law system, there would be many avenues for appeal – starting with the fact that the accusations made against him are without any factual basis.”

Yang’s family still has not received the written judgement for his suspended death sentence, more than two weeks after the verdict was delivered. The court’s decision is likely to remain shrouded in secrecy under national security laws that can prevent judges, courts and lawyers from ever disclosing the reasons for the harshest sentence ever handed down to a foreign national on espionage charges.

“The accusations that the Beijing Municipal State Security Bureau has levelled against him are so spurious that they have never been publicly disclosed, let alone properly tested and cross-examined in court,” Yang’s family said.

They praised his lawyers Mo Shaoping and Shang Baojun for spending the past five years arguing his case despite facing difficulties that are unimaginable to lawyers in Australia.

“They have used every inch of available space to defend Yang’s innocence and demonstrate their shared commitment to the principles of justice.”

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