外國記者成蕾、桂民海和楊恒均近年來被中國當局逮捕，目前仍以間諜罪被拘留，無國界記者組織（RSF）呼籲中國政府立即釋放三人。
整整一年前，也就是2020年8月14日，原任職於官媒中國環球電視台 （CGTN）的知名澳籍商業新聞主播成蕾因涉嫌「非法向海外提供國家機密」而被捕。澳籍時事評論員楊恒均前年亦因類似罪名被捕後被任意拘留。瑞典籍香港出版商桂民海2015年在泰國遭綁架後，2020年2月因類似罪名被判處10年有期徒刑。
RSF東亞辦事處執行長艾瑋昂（Cédric Alviani）譴責道：「習近平主席以間諜罪拘留三名外國記者，借此發出非常明確的訊息，也就是無論發表獨立意見者的國籍或居住地為何，中國都不怕加以追殺。」他呼籲國際社會「向中國施加壓力，迫使其尊重國際法，並且確保成蕾、楊恒均、桂民海和所有其他被拘留的記者和新聞自由捍衛人士得以立即獲釋。」
現年46歲的澳籍商業新聞主播成蕾生於中國，曾任職於中國環球電視台，被捕後度過六個月的「指定居所監視居住」（RSDL）。RSDL是中國的「黑牢」，被拘留者不但被剝奪權利，還處於被折磨的危險之中。成蕾在2021年2月被轉至北京的監獄，目前官方尚未公布其受審日期相關資訊。
現年57歲瑞典籍香港出版商桂民海生於中國，2015 年在泰國遭綁架，幾個月後在中國國家電視台出面認罪。盡管桂民海有嚴重的健康問題，他仍在2020年2月因「非法提供情報罪」被判有期徒刑十年。
現年56歲的澳籍政治評論家暨作家楊恒均生於中國，曾在著名的國際事務雜志《外交官》上發表多篇批評中國政權的文章，2019年1月在廣州被捕，依「間諜罪」被起訴後，拘留期間遭受酷刑。楊恒均已於2021年5月受審，但官方尚未公布判決結果。
中國在2021 RSF世界新聞自由指數180國中排名第177，是世界上最大的記者監獄，目前境內至少有125名記者被拘留，多有生命危險之虞。
China: RSF calls for release of three foreign journalists accused of espionage
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the immediate release of Cheng Lei, Gui Minhai and Yang Hengjun, three foreign journalists arrested in recent years and still detained by the Chinese regime on the accusation of espionage.
Exactly one year ago, on 14th of August 2020, Cheng Lei, a high-profile Australian business news anchor working for state media group China Global Television (CGTN), was arrested under suspicion of “illegally supplying state secrets overseas”. Yang Hengjun, an Australian political commentator, was arrested the year before under a similar accusation and has since been arbitrarily detained. Gui Minhai, a Swedish national who founded a publishing house in Hong Kong, was sentenced in February 2020 to 10 years in prison for a similar crime, after being kidnapped in Thailand in 2015.
“By keeping three foreign journalists in detention under the accusation of espionage, President Xi Jinping sends a very clear message that China is not afraid to go after any independent voices, regardless of their passport or place of residence”, denounces RSF East Asia Bureau head, Cédric Alviani, who calls on the international community “to build up pressure to compel China to respect international law and to secure the immediate release of Cheng Lei, Yang Hengjun, Gui Minhai, and all other detained journalists and press freedom defenders.”
Cheng Lei, 46, Chinese-born Australian CGTN business news anchor, was arrested and placed for six months under “residential surveillance at a designated location” (RSDL), China’s “black jails” in which detainees are deprived of their rights and at risk of being tortured. In February 2021 she was moved to a prison in Beijing, and to this date no information about her trial date has been released.
Gui Minhai, 57, Chinese-born Swedish founder of a Hong Kong publishing house known for its investigations on Chinese leaders, was abducted in Thailand in 2015 and reappeared on Chinese state TV for a confession months later. In February 2020, Gui was sentenced to ten years in prison under the charge of “illegally providing intelligence to foreign countries”, despite serious health concerns.
Yang Hengjun, 56, a Chinese-born Australian political commentator and writer who published several articles critical of the regime in the prominent international affairs magazine The Diplomat, was arrested in January 2019 in the southeastern Chinese city of Guangzhou, charged with “espionage” and tortured while in detention. Yang’s trial was held in May 2021, but no verdict has yet been published.
China, ranked 177th out of 180 in the 2021 RSF World Press Freedom Index, is the world’s largest captor of journalists with at least 125 detained, often in life-threatening conditions.
Original source: https://rsf.org/en/news/china-rsf-calls-release-three-foreign-journalists-accused-espionage
