China sentences bookseller Gui Minhai to 10 years in prison

A court in China has sentenced Chinese-born Swedish citizen Gui Minhai to 10 years in prison over charges of illegally providing intelligence abroad in a case that has rattled relations between Beijing and Stockholm.

The court in the eastern city of Ningbo said on Tuesday that the book publisher 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, one of five Hong Kong-based booksellers known for publishing gossipy 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.

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Gui first vanished in 2015 while on holiday in Thailand and eventually surfaced at an undisclosed location in China, 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 traveling with Swedish diplomats.

Hong Kong’s Missing Booksellers – 101 East
His supporters and family have claimed his detainment is part of political repression campaign orchestrated by Chinese authorities.

The Ningbo court also sentenced Gui to five years of “deprivation of political rights”, which in practice means he cannot lead state-owned enterprises or hold positions in state organs.

China does not recognise dual citizenship and foreigners are required to renounce their foreign nationality once they gain Chinese 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 at the time 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.