European Politicians Urge Xi To Free Gui Minhai

Dozens of European politicians have signed a joint letter to President Xi Jinping, urging him to order the immediate and unconditional release of Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai.

The 36 Members of the European Parliament (MEP), from several countries including Sweden, Britain and Germany, expressed their "strong condemnation of the arrest and continued detention" of Gui, and asked Xi to ensure the Swedish citizen is protected from "torture and other ill-treatment" pending his release.

Gui was one of five Causeway Bay booksellers who disappeared in 2015 only to resurface months later in detention on the mainland. He was snatched once again by law enforcement agents last month, while on a mainland train accompanied by two Swedish diplomats.

"Mr Gui is not the first European citizen to be wrongfully detained in China, but we aspire to make him the last one," the politicians said.

They added that his detention is "part of a disturbing pattern of repression, the main victims of which are Chinese human rights defenders, activists and lawyers, targeted for their peaceful human rights activities both inside and outside China’s borders."

The MEPs said while the European Parliament wants collaborative, respectful relations with China, it will not allow this to come at the cost of European citizens' safety.

Beijing said earlier this month that Gui had been detained for leaking state secrets. He recently appeared in mainland and Hong Kong media, in what was widely seen as a forced interview, where he accused Sweden of using him as a chess piece in order to create trouble for Beijing.