Sweden’s foreign minister says her country takes “a very serious view” of Gui’s detention as he travelled to Beijing for a medical examination
Sweden has called on China to immediately free missing bookseller Gui Minhai who was seized by Chinese agents on Saturday as he travelled to Beijing with two European diplomats.
In a statement, Sweden’s foreign minister, Margot Wallström, said: “We expect the immediate release of our fellow citizen, and that he be given the opportunity to meet Swedish diplomatic and medical staff.”
Wallström said Stockholm took “a very serious view” of Gui’s detention which had taken place “during an ongoing consular support mission”. China had given “no specific reason” for the action.
Sweden’s foreign minister also rejected insinuations by her counterparts in China’s foreign ministry that the two Swedish diplomats travelling with Gui when he was taken had violated unspecified laws.
On Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, denied all knowledge of Gui’s case, claiming it was not a diplomatic matter, but hinted Sweden’s diplomats had committed some unspecified act of wrongdoing.
Wallström said: “Gui Minhai was at the time of his arrest in the company of diplomatic staff, who were providing consular assistance to a Swedish citizen in need of medical care. This was perfectly in line with basic international rules giving us the right to provide our citizens with consular support.”
“The Chinese authorities have assured us on numerous occasions that Mr Gui Minhai has been free since his release having served a sentence for a traffic-related offence, and that we can have any contact we wish with our fellow citizen.
