China set to indict Australian academic Yang Hengjun on espionage charges

Concerns grow over 54-year-old's interrogation and treatment while held in isolation with no consular or legal access

China is preparing to formally indict Australian academic Dr Yang Hengjun with espionage, a charge that potentially carries the death penalty, as concerns grow over his isolation and treatment in prison.

Yang, 54, has been imprisoned for more than 432 days, and, for the last three months, has been held in total isolation, allowed no contact with the outside world.