Chinese officials announced Monday that Australian writer Yang Hengjun has been charged with espionage. Yang was detained by Chinese authorities in January 2019 and has not been released since.

A former Chinese diplomat and spy novelist, Yang wrote on Chinese politics for several years. He became an Australian citizen in the early 2000s. Yang claims his spy novels were based on his experiences in China’s foreign ministry, but the ministry denies employing him. Once known as a “democracy peddler,” Yang has not criticized the Chinese Communist Party in recent years.

A spokesman for the foreign ministry announced that Yang was indicted on October 7, and that the case has been filed with and accepted by the Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court. A judge is expected to be appointed within the next 14 days. Yang’s lawyers have spoken to him twice over the last month. It was his first access to legal representation over the last 21 months of detention.

In a news conference, Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison stated that his government is stressing transparency in Yang’s case during diplomatic engagements on the issue. Australia has strongly objected to Yang’s detention and indictment. However, Australia’s relationship with China has deteriorated this year. After Australia called for an international inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, China imposed trade reprisals.