A Beijing court has sentenced former Guangming Daily journalist Dong Yuyu to seven years in prison on espionage charges, his family confirmed on Friday. Dong, 62, was detained in February 2022 while dining with a Japanese diplomat. Press freedom groups condemned his conviction as “baseless and deeply unjust”.

The sentencing of Dong Yuyu, a former Harvard Nieman fellow, signals that officials consider some exchanges between Chinese citizens and foreigners to be espionage.

A court in Beijing on Friday sentenced a prominent Chinese journalist to seven in years in prison for espionage, his family said. Dong Yuyu, a commentator and editor, was taken away