• Literature: The escape to Taiwan of the seller of banned books in China, eight months imprisoned for dissident

Swedish bookseller and activist Gui Minhai, owner of a publishing house specializing in books critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was sentenced to 10 years in prison for "giving illegal intelligence services to foreign countries."

As announced by the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court on Monday night (in eastern China, Gui's hometown), the activist pleaded guilty and did not appeal his sentence, which also includes the loss of his political rights for five years.

The statement from that institution states that, although Gui was nationalized Swedish in 1996 , in 2018 he asked to regain his Chinese nationality "under the legislation".

Gui's case has caused strong diplomatic tensions between Stockholm and Beijing, and even the Swedish former ambassador to Beijing has been involved in a judicial process after the Prosecutor's Office brought charges against her for organizing a secret meeting related to the bookseller, imprisoned since years ago

Last November, both countries returned to engage in this diplomatic dispute after the Swedish Minister of Culture, Amanda Lind, presented an award in absentia to the bookseller, even though the Chinese ambassador in Stockholm had warned that participation Any government representative in the act would imply a ban on their entry into China.

Gui Minhai's problems with the regime began in autumn 2015 when five Hong Kong publishers and booksellers critical of Beijing mysteriously disappeared to reappear in Chinese custody months later, although all but him were released shortly after international pressure.

Gui then said in a television message that he had returned to China to take responsibility for the death of a young woman he had allegedly run over in 2003.

The bookseller was released in October 2017 after serving a two-year sentence, but months later he was arrested again by the Chinese authorities on a train when he went to Beijing along with Swedish diplomats for a medical check-up at the Swedish embassy and Since then, it has remained held.

In a new appearance before the media he declared two years ago that he had been manipulated by the Swedish authorities, which , he said, wanted to take him out of the country "illegally." In that interview he poured numerous criticisms of the European country.

In China it is common for officials investigated or convicted of corruption offenses to publicly show their repentance, so many international media have questioned Gui offering those appearances freely.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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