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Canberra, Australia (AP) — A Chinese-Australian writer tried in Beijing on suspicion of espionage begged a judge to dismiss evidence of what he said when tortured by a cross-examiner. Said
Yang Hengjun faced a private trial last Thursday, and the court postponed the decision at a later date.
The Australian Government has named his his arbitrary voluntary detention on Friday since he arrived in China in January 2019.
The Associated Press on Monday witnessed an explanation of the legal process of a crime writer and blogger spreading among his supporters over the weekend.
Mr Yang said he had met with the judge three days before the trial on the 1st. The judge denied his request to submit evidence and summon witnesses during the trial, but agreed to include nearly 100 pages of defense documents in the proceedings file.
“I petitioned the judge to exclude my cross-examination record from court proceedings,” said Yang.
“It’s illegal. Torture. They had hidden camera records,” Yang added.
Yang does not mention how the judge responded to his request.
The Code of Criminal Procedure in China prohibits confessions from torture and intimidation.
“In light of the legal facts, this prosecution is unfounded,” Yang said.
“I was tired and confused,” and “I wasn’t willing to speak enough,” Yang said during the hearing.
He estimated that he had spoken for less than five minutes in his defense, but said at a hearing that “it gave me the feeling that everything was fine.”
“The cross-examination I received was told I had to confess, and the treatment I received in the first year and a half was worse (sic),” said Yang.
Chinese officials have not disclosed details of the indictment against Mr. Yang, who reportedly worked as an intelligence agent at the former Chinese Ministry of State Security.
Mr Yang told his supporters over the weekend: “I was secretly serving China when I was young.”
Yang has denied accusations against him and is almost certain to be convicted, but it is not clear when the verdict will be. Spy charges are punishable from three years in prison to the death penalty.
The trial called for China’s retaliation against Australian law for foreign involvement in domestic politics, exclusion of telecommunications giant Huawei from the 5G telephone network, and an independent investigation into its origins, at a time when relations between the two countries deteriorated. It was done. The first coronavirus detected in China in late 2019.
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