Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai gets 10 years in jail
BEIJING: A Chinese court has sentenced Swedish book publisher Gui Minhai to 10 years in prison on charges of illegally providing intelligence abroad in a case that has rattled relations between Beijing and Stockholm.
Gui, one of five Hong Kong-based booksellers known for publishing salacious titles about Chinese political leaders, was snatched by Chinese authorities while on a train to Beijing in February 2018, the second time he disappeared into Chinese custody.
The court in the eastern city of Ningbo said Gui was convicted on Monday and that he had his Chinese citizenship reinstated in 2018, but it was not immediately clear if he had given up his Swedish nationality.
Gui first vanished in 2015 while on holiday in Thailand and eventually surfaced at an undisclosed location in China, purportedly confessing to involvement in a fatal traffic accident and smuggling illegal books. He served two years in prison but three months after his October 2017 release, he was again arrested while on a train to Beijing while travelling with Swedish diplomats. His supporters and family say his detainment is part of a political repression campaign orchestrated by Chinese authorities.
The Ningbo court also sentenced Gui to five years of “deprivation of political rights”, which means he cannot hold positions in state organs. China does not recognise dual citizenship.
A video released by China three weeks after Gui’s disappearance showed him purportedly confessing wrongdoing and blaming Sweden for “sensationalising” his case and “instigating” law-breaking behaviour.
Gui’s friend, dissident poet Bei Ling, said that Gui’s confession was likely made under coercion. Chinese criminal suspects often appear in videotaped “confessions” that rights groups say sometimes bear the hallmarks of official arm-twisting.
Gui’s detention has put a strain on relations between Sweden and China in recent years, with Stockholm repeatedly calling for his release.