Australia: Cheng Lei released after three years in detention

Australian journalist Cheng Lei has returned to Australia after over three years of pre-trial detention on National Security Charges. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Australian affiliate, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) welcome her return to Australia and commend the advocacy, lobbying, and other support granted to Lei during her detention.

Journalist Cheng Lei (C) poses for a photo with Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong (L) upon arrival at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne on October 11. Credit: Twitter

On October 11, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong announced the safe return of jailed journalist and MEAA member Cheng Lei after over three years in detention. Lei was reunited with her husband and two young children upon arrival at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport.

Lei was detained in August 2020 without charges while working for Chinese state broadcaster China Global Television Network, held in a “Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location”. While in custody, the journalist was denied access to her family, with calls with Australia’s diplomatic corps under strict scrutiny.  

 She was formally arrested in February 2021, on charges of supplying state secrets overseas. The journalist’s detention was markedly opaque, with a closed-door trial conducted on March 31. Lei published an open letter in August 2023, describing the dire conditions she faced while imprisoned, and her longing to be reunited with her children.

The release comes amid a thawing of Australian-Chinese relations, with Albanese planning to conduct a diplomatic visit to China in late 2023. Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian confirmed in January that Lei’s detention had been the subject of lobbying by the Australian government, despite his government’s need to respect China’s legal processes. Notably, Australian writer and blogger Yang Hengjun remains in custody.   

Through her detention, the IFJ and MEAA have consistently called for her release, and for Chinese authorities to conduct her trial openly. In 2022, the IFJ joined the National Press Clubs of Australia, America, and the MEAA in calling on Chinese authorities to ensure that her trial be conducted in an open, fair and public manner.

MEAA said: “Australian journalists and press freedom advocates will be celebrating that our colleague Cheng Lei has finally been united again with her children in Melbourne. From the day she was arrested, her fellow journalists at MEAA have campaigned for her release. […] We commend the advocacy of the Albanese Government and especially Foreign Minister Penny Wong for doggedly pursuing this case. To all the journalists and press freedom supporters who took part in the campaign to free Ms Cheng, thank you. But most of all, this is a moment of joy for Ms Cheng’s Family in Melbourne, her mother and her two young children whom she has not seen for three years, and for her partner, Nick Coyle, who has left no stone unturned as he sought to have her freed.”

The IFJ said:“ While Cheng Lei’s release and return to Australia are worthy of celebration, the arbitrary prolonged and opaque nature of her detention are condemnable. The IFJ welcomes the journalist’s return to her loved ones and calls on Chinese authorities to release all journalists still in custody.”