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A Prague court acquitted Chinese citizen Yang Yiming on Monday of unauthorised activity for a foreign power and ordered his release from custody, ruling that the required intent to endanger Czech interests had not been established, Czech news agency CTK reported.
The judgment is not final. Prosecutor Martin Bily appealed both the acquittal and the release decision, meaning the case will go to the High Court in Prague, according to CTK’s report.
Yang, whose name is rendered Jang I-ming in Czech, denies wrongdoing. He has maintained that he was engaged in ordinary journalistic work and that the information he obtained could not threaten Czech security.
Court distinguished conduct from criminal intent
Judge Tome Frankic said most assertions in the indictment had been established, including that Yang belonged to Chinese intelligence, worked for a foreign power in the Czech Republic, built a network of contacts and followed the political situation, CTK reported.
But the evidence did not establish that Yang intended to endanger or damage the country’s constitutional order, sovereignty, territorial integrity, defence or security, the judge said. That intent is part of the definition of the offence.
The ruling therefore was not a finding that every factual assertion in the prosecution’s case was false. It turned on whether the conduct met the legal requirements of the criminal provision.
Frankic also said the reports Yang produced and transmitted were not capable of endangering Czech interests and that the primary purpose of his activity was collecting information. He cited a Constitutional Court decision requiring an immediate, specific and real threat to Czech interests, rather than an abstract one, for criminal liability under the provision.
Prosecution and defence disagree
Prosecutors alleged that Yang arrived in 2022, obtained accreditation as a foreign journalist and used that cover to gather political and economic information at the direction of a foreign intelligence service. The charges concerned activity after the new offence took effect in February 2025, according to CTK.
Defence lawyer Michal Sykora said after the judgment that he agreed with the court’s legal assessment but disputed its finding that much of the indictment had been proved. He retained time to consider a defence appeal.
Bily had sought a three-year prison term and expulsion. He said the court’s decision had to be respected while pursuing the appeal, and acknowledged that Yang was not now obliged to remain in the Czech Republic, CTK reported.
Yang did not comment on the judgment after its announcement. His lawyer said he did not currently plan to leave the country. Much of the trial was closed to the public to protect classified information.
JBizNews Desk | Prague
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