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Czech Court Rules Alleged Chinese Spy's Actions Not Criminal

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A court in Prague has acquitted Chinese journalist Yang Yiming of espionage and ordered his release, according to the Czech news agency CTK. Yang, who previously worked for a newspaper linked to China’s Communist Party, was arrested in January. He was accused of developing connections with Czech officials and gathering potentially damaging information for a foreign power. The court ruled that his actions did not constitute a crime. The decision comes as relations between Beijing and Prague improve following years of tension under the Czech Republic’s previous Taiwan-friendly government.

Czech Court Releases Alleged Spy

REPORTER:  
A Prague court has acquitted a journalist suspected of espionage and ordered his release, according to Czech news agency CTK.

Yang Yiming previously worked for a newspaper linked to the Communist Party. He was arrested in January and accused of building connections with Czech officials and collecting potentially damaging information for a foreign power. But the court has ruled that his actions did not amount to a crime. The ruling comes as relations between Beijing and Prague improve, following years of tension under the previous Taiwan-friendly government.

A Prague court ruled on Monday that a man suspected of espionage in the Czech Republic was not guilty and ordered his release, the news agency CTK reported.

The man, who had worked in Prague as a journalist, was arrested in January, accused of building up connections with Czech officials and collecting information that may be harmful to the Czech Republic.

But a court ruled that his activity was not criminal, CTK said.

A state attorney appealed both the ruling and the release from custody, sending the case to a higher court, CTK said. Yang Yiming, who had denied wrongdoing, was not ordered to remain in the country, but his lawyer said he was not planning to leave at the moment, it said.

Yang, who Czech media said was a reporter for a Communist Party-affiliated newspaper, had been charged with conducting "unauthorised activity for a foreign power".

Authorities had demanded the release of the man while commenting on the June detention of a Czech citizen in China.

The Czech man has been held in China on suspicion of national security offences, officials said.

Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka has said the cases were unrelated.

Beijing and Prague have signalled a warming of diplomatic ties in recent months after tensions under the previous Czech administration due to its strong ties with Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by China.

The Czech government in power since last December has sought a more pragmatic relationship with Beijing.