EU urges China to release Swedish publisher

brussels - The European Union expects China to release the Swedish-Chinese bookseller Gui Minhai so that he can be reunited with his wife and daughter. Beijing must allow consular and medical assistance from Sweden, according to the EU foreign service.

The 53-year-old Minhai was arrested in January, presumably because he writes and sells critical and speculative books about Chinese politicians. He was kidnapped in 2015 when he was on holiday in Thailand, allegedly by China. With him disappeared four other booksellers, who also later appeared in China as prisoners. They returned to Hong Kong earlier, where Gui also has his home base.

The EU had previously asked for Minhais release and takes its continued detention 'very seriously. 'China, which sees him as a traitor, would violate, among other things, the ban on arbitrary deprivation of liberty.

Recently, images appeared on which Minhai said he does not want help from Sweden, but according to this statement he was forced according to human rights organizations and his daughter. The Swedish media organization Publicistklubben last year gave Minhai a prize for freedom of expression and press freedom.