Czech court acquits and releases Chinese man accused of spying, news agency says

A Prague court ruled on ​Monday that a Chinese 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". Chinese 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, Chinese 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.