A Beijing court sentenced veteran Chinese state media journalist Dong Yuyu on Friday to seven years in prison for espionage, his family said in a statement, calling the verdict a grave injustice.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the release of Dong Yuyu, a prominent Chinese journalist sentenced to seven years in prison on trumped-up accusations of espionage. He is one of 123 journalists and press freedom defenders currently detained by the Chinese regime.

Dong Yuyu is a respected reporter internationally and his family is dismayed by the sentence. Journalist rights groups are calling for his immediate release. A veteran Chinese state media journalist has been sentenced to seven years in prison for espionage, a verdict his family describes as a "grave injustice".