The United States Embassy here said Monday that it is “dismayed” by a Chinese court decision sentencing of a U.S. citizen to eight years in prison for violating state secrets law.

In a written statement Monday, U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman called for the release of Dr. Xue Feng, a naturalized U.S. citizen, who in addition to the sentence received a fine of about $29,500 for allegedly providing intelligence abroad.

“I was at the court house this morning when Dr. Xue Feng was sentenced to eight years and fined 200,000 RMB. I am disappointed, ” Huntsman said in a written statement.