Chinese spy Yang I-ming released: Prague court found no criminal offence
Prague City Court released Yang I-ming from custody despite finding that he worked for Chinese intelligence. According to the judge, the defendant's conduct did not meet the criteria of a criminal offence.
Prague court acquitted Chinese spy: law insufficient for conviction
Yang I-ming, a man identified by security services as an agent of Chinese intelligence, is free. Judge Tomáš Frankič of Prague City Court found, according to respekt.cz, that Yang had operated in the Czech Republic for a long time under journalistic cover, received tasks from Chinese secret services and passed information about politicians and other public figures through conspiratorial channels. Nevertheless, he released him from custody.
The reason is a gap in proving intent. The court found that the prosecution had failed to adequately demonstrate that Yang's conduct "intentionally endangered or damaged the constitutional order, territorial integrity, defence or security of the Czech Republic or violated its sovereignty." Without this element, the conduct did not meet the criteria of the criminal offence of unauthorised activity on behalf of a foreign power.
The case was unprecedented from the outset — it was the first trial of its kind in Czech modern history. Previous legislation required that police and security services demonstrate before arrest that the suspect had obtained information classified by law, such as government documents or materials from intelligence services.
The question of whether police or the prosecution made an error has no clear answer. The case nevertheless reveals the limits of the current legal framework in prosecuting foreign intelligence operations on Czech territory.
Source: Google News CZ — Crime (cs)