UPDATE - Australian journalist back home after 3 years behind bars in China

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM CHINA, CHANGES HEADER, DECK

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Islamuddin Sajid

ISTANBUL / ISLAMABAD (AA) - Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who was jailed for almost three years in China, has returned home, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Wednesday.

Beijing said Cheng was “deported.”

Cheng was detained by Chinese authorities in 2020 and formally arrested in February 2021 after a six-month detention over "suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas."

“I am pleased to confirm that Ms Cheng Lei has arrived safely home in Australia, and has been reunited with her two children and her family. I spoke with her on the phone this afternoon," Albanese said on X.

Her release followed the “completion of legal processes in China,” according to a statement by the prime minister.

“The Australian government will continue to provide whatever consular support Ms. Cheng and her family require,” it added.

The development came as Albanese prepares to visit Beijing this year.

Born in 1975 in Yueyang, China’s landlocked south-central Hunan province, Cheng moved to Melbourne with her parents at the age of 10.

She began her career as a business reporter in 2001, and joined CCTV News, now CGTN, in 2002. She is married and has two children.

"Australian journalist Cheng Lei has been deported after serving her full sentence," China's Ministry of State Security said, according to China Daily.

She was sentenced to two years and 11 months for "illegally providing state secrets to a foreign country."

Commenting on the issue, Wang Wenbin, spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Beijing: “The Chinese judiciary has made judgments lawfully, and guaranteed the rights of the parties concerned in accordance with the law, respected and implemented the consular rights of the Australian side, including the consular visits and notifications.”

“A healthy and stable bilateral (China-Australia) relationship is in line with the interests of both countries and both people, as well as regional and world stability. China is willing to work with Australia to push for improvement of bilateral ties,” Wang added.