The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday called on Chinese authorities to immediately release veteran journalist Dong Yuyu after the Beijing High Court upheld his seven-year prison sentence for espionage. CPJ said the court affirmed the conviction without providing reasons, and that the appeal decision is final under China’s system. “Speaking with diplomats is routine work for journalists, not espionage,” CPJ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi said, urging China to free Dong and allow him to reunite with his family.

Dong’s son told CPJ that the court notified them of its ruling, which rejected his appeal and left the 63-year-old’s conviction in place. Dong’s son has also called on Japanese authorities in Washington to assist, emphasizing that his father did not commit espionag

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