Brit 'spying' Ian Stones' life at risk in hellish Chinese prison where he is denied medical treatment, family fears

A British businessman who disappeared six years ago is now fighting for his life in a hellish Chinese prison after being secretly jailed for espionage.

Beijing admitted for the first time today that Ian Stones, aged around 70, was convicted of espionage in 2022 – but his family fear he may not survive his sentence.

4

4

Stones had worked China for more than four decades for major American companies, including General engines And Pfizer before suddenly disappearing in 2018.

Now it has emerged that the industry chief was detained by Beijing for six years on suspicion of 'industrial espionage', apparently as part of China's paranoid crackdown on a possible MI6 infiltration.

He was eventually sentenced to five years in prison in 2022 for allegedly “obtaining intelligence for foreign actors”.

However, the director's daughter Laura has now opened up about the family's distress due to his serious, life-threatening injuries and health problems following years of poor nutrition and irregular medical care.

Stones is believed to be held in the country's capital at the infamous Prison No. 2, known for housing foreign prisoners and which has drawn criticism from human rights groups for its poor treatment of prisoners.

The alleged ghost has been repeatedly denied health treatments, with British embassy officials sometimes not being allowed to see him for up to six months, Laura said.

She said The Wall Street Journal that the family has gone without news for many months, leaving them completely in the dark as to whether he is still alive.

She said: “We hope it is not too late to help his health recover, and pray that the Chinese authorities will continue to do what they can to care for my father until he can return home.”

Laura also revealed that her father had not confessed to the crime, but had instead 'stoically' accepted that China would force him to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Sources revealed that the British embassy has been denied access to documents related to the case and excluded from the closed-door trial.

Throughout the six-year saga, there had been no official mention of his case by Chinese or British authorities – despite growing concerns about Stones' health and well-being.

The British Foreign Office has been contacted for comment, but Britain does not publicly reveal how many of its citizens are being held in China.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin confirmed that Mr Stones had been detained in a brief statement first released yesterday.

Wenbin said a court in Beijing “sentenced the British defendant to five years in prison for the crime of illegally obtaining intelligence for foreign actors.”

He added that Stones had appealed his conviction but the sentence was upheld in September last year.

The prolonged silence surrounding his case suggests that other foreign businesspeople are likely being secretly detained by China while governments and/or their families work privately to secure their release.

Having lived in China since 1978, Stones was fluent in Chinese, had built a hugely lucrative career and had many high-flying friends and associates in the country.

After working with major industry giants in China, Stones founded a Beijing-based investment management consultancy, Navisino Partners, about fifteen years ago.

His company was officially deregistered in China from 2021.

Britain and the US have repeatedly warned their citizens of the risk of detention under China's sweeping national security laws and the opacity of the country's legal system.

Big alarm

China and Britain have clashed in recent months over allegations of alleged espionage and the resulting impact on national security.

But in recent weeks, Beijing has stepped up warnings about national security and the threat of foreign spies, in an apparent attempt to manifest an atmosphere of paranoia.

Earlier this month, China arrested the head of a foreign consultancy firm after claiming this was the case espionage for the British intelligence service MI6.

Beijing said the suspect – who is neither British nor Chinese – has been stealing state secrets for Britain's secret intelligence service since 2015.

Beijing's feared Ministry of State Security revealed the suspect's surname was Huang, but gave no further details about his identity.

In a statement, they said the foreigner had attempted to establish a “collaborative intelligence relationship.”

Britain, in turn, has done so warned that Chinese spies are increasingly targeting officials – allegations that Beijing has denied.

However, the claims about a Chinese spy working at the heart of the British government marked a potential major escalation in Beijing's attempts to meddle in British democracy.

In September, a government researcher was arrested under the Official Secrets Act, although he subsequently denied spying for Beijing.

In July, Britain also investigated allegations that a Chinese spy disguised as a tourist attempted this infiltrate parliament.

It followed Security Minister Tom Tugendhat's criticism of China for being “unacceptable” and secretive police gas stations in the United Kingdom.

Over the past year, China, which has a broad definition of state secrets, has widely publicized several other alleged espionage cases.

In May, Chinese authorities sentenced 78-year-old American citizen John Shing-wan Leung to life in prison for espionage.

China also raided a series of major consulting, research and due diligence firms last year.

Last May, China said it had raided the offices of US consultancy Capvision to safeguard its “national security and development interests”.

Beijing also questioned employees at the Shanghai branch of another American consultancy firm, Bain, in April.

And authorities in March detained employees and closed a Beijing office of U.S. due diligence firm Mintz Group.

4

4