Tiyip was “suspected of corruption and bribery,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular briefing Friday.
Amnesty International said in September that it feared Tiyip, a prominent geographer, faced imminent execution after being “convicted in a secret and grossly unfair trial”.
Tiyip was believed to have been convicted of “separatism”
China warned Wednesday that a “price must be paid” after the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation seeking sanctions against senior Chinese officials over the crackdown on mainly Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang.
The legislation adds to tensions between the two superpowers just as they are locked in negotiations to finalise a “phase one” deal to resolve their protracted trade war.
US President Donald Trump had already angered Beijing after he signed legislation supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, prompting China earlier this week to impose sanctions on US-based NGOs and suspend future visits by US warships to the semi-autonomous …
