Washington D.C. – Reuters, July 16, 2026
A Czech citizen held in China since the end of June is being investigated on suspicion of national security offences, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, as it demanded the release of one of its citizens awaiting trial in the Czech Republic on charges of working for Beijing intelligence.
The Czech Foreign Ministry announced the detention of the Czech citizen on Wednesday and said its officials were in consular contact. China said their rights were fully guaranteed.
Czech news website Seznam Zpravy reported on Wednesday that a Czech businessman active in China had been detained by Chinese security forces at an airport, and was expected to be charged with espionage.
The report said Czech intelligence services had been suspecting Beijing might detain a Czech national to exchange for suspected Chinese intelligence operative Yang Yiming, who was arrested in Prague in January.
