Prominent Australian journalist Cheng Lei was released Tuesday by Chinese authorities and reunited with her family in Australia after being detained in China since August 2020.

Lei was formally arrested in 2021 following allegations by Chinese officials that Lei had been illegally supplying Chinese state secrets overseas whilst working as a news anchor for the Chinese Government’s English-language television channel CGTN.

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong celebrated Lei’s homecoming, stating:

We are pleased to confirm that Australian citizen Ms Cheng Lei has arrived safely home in Australia and has been reunited with her family, after more than three years of detention in China. The Australian Government has been seeking Ms Cheng’s return since she was detained in August, 2020. Her return will be warmly welcomed not just by her family and friends but by all Australians.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Lei in Melbourne to welcome her back to Australia.

Lei is only one of several Australian citizens who have been or are being detained by China under the country’s residential detention laws.

The outcome of Lei’s trial in China is unknown; however, Wong stated that legal processes in China had been completed.