The journalist and author Peter Greste has told Scott Emerson on 4BC Drive that he is not surprised about the comments made by Australia’s ambassador after famously being held captive in Egypt in 2014.

Graham Fletcher, Australia’s ambassador to China, said outside court that he had been denied entry to Beijing’s secret trial of Cheng Lui after being accused of sharing state secrets.

“The easiest way to describe it is disappointed but not surprised,” Mr Greste said.

“The fact is that there is (a) complete lack of transparency over the reasons she was arrested over the charges she’s facing. We don’t really know what lies behind it. It’s an incredibly unspecific charge, and we don’t know really know what she’s alleged to have done.”

Lei, a former business anchor of China’s state broadcaster CGTN, has been accused of illegally supplying state secrets overseas, a charge which carries a possible sentence of between five years to life in prison.

Mr Greste told 4BC Drive that the secret trial is likely to indicate a more significant problem in the relationship between Australia and China.

“In the absence of any transparency, all we can assume is that she’s a political pawn in a bigger fight between Australia and Beijing,” he said.

Press PLAY to hear Peter Greste on Cheng Lei’s current situation and how his past relates to the recent sentence.