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The Law Council of Australia has expressed serious concern about the detention of an Australian citizen in China being held on suspicion of endangering national security and supposedly being denied access to legal counsel.
Yang Hengjun has been detained under residential surveillance on suspicion of ‘endangering national security’, a form of detention which permits authorities to interrogate suspects for several months without access to lawyers, family members or Australian embassy officials, according to the national legal advocacy group.
“While the Law Council acknowledges the Australian government’s efforts to ascertain the reasons for Mr Yang’s detention and ensure his wellbeing, diplomatic representations to China must continue as a matter of urgency at the highest levels,” Mr Moses said.
“We hold grave concerns for Mr Yang and offer any assistance the Australian government may require in order to ensure he is treated in a fair and transparent manner.”
The Australian legal profession would not tolerate our government treating a Chinese citizen in the manner that Mr Yang, an Australian citizen, is being treated in China, Mr Moses posited.
“I hope my colleagues in the Chinese legal profession and judiciary will ensure that Mr Yang is treated in a fair and transparent manner, including not being subject to arbitrary detention and having access to lawyers. Australian embassy officials should be permitted to see him without further delay,” he argued.
“This type of conduct by a foreign government towards an Australian citizen cannot and should not be tolerated.”
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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Jerome Doraisamy
