Swedish ambassador to China investigated for security breaches in Gui Minhai case

Swedish authorities said on Wednesday that the country’s ambassador to China was under criminal investigation for breaching national security, after she was called back to Stockholm amid reports of her role in arranging unauthorised meetings about the case of detained bookseller Gui Minhai.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hans Ihrman confirmed Swedish media reports that Anna Lindstedt was “under ongoing investigation” for the relevant national security crimes without further elaboration, the Swedish Prosecution Authority told the South China Morning Post in an email reply.

It was reported earlier that Lindstedt had been recalled from Beijing to meet with Swedish foreign ministry officials, and Stockholm later said it was conducting an internal investigation over her “incorrect action” connected to events occurring at the end of January.

Lindstedt was embroiled in a political storm after Angela Gui, the daughter of Swedish book publisher Gui Minhai, wrote in a public post on Medium on February 13 that the Swedish ambassador was involved in arranging an unauthorised meeting between her and unidentified Chinese businessmen.

In the post, Gui said that Lindstedt had asked her to come to Stockholm on January 24 for “a new approach” to her father’s case, but ended up in a meeting with unnamed Chinese businessmen who offered to help secure her father’s release. She said they threatened her to stop engaging with the media or it would damage Lindstedt’s career, and that she had to trust them or she would never see her father again.

When Gui later contacted Swedish foreign affairs officials, they told her that they were not aware of the meeting.