Sweden ‘unlikely’ to extradite Chinese fugitive Qiao Jianjun as Supreme Court sets him free
- Stockholm’s top court says suspect, who was in custody for almost a year, ‘should no longer be arrested’
- Former director of grain storage facility is wanted by Beijing on suspicion of having embezzled millions of dollars
One of China’s most wanted fugitives who has been in custody in Sweden for almost a year has been released, suggesting he is now unlikely to face extradition, his lawyer has said.
Qiao Jianjun, the former director of a government grain storage facility in the central China province of Hunan, is wanted by Beijing on suspicion of having embezzled millions of dollars.
He fled the country in November 2011 and spent more than six years on the run before being arrested by Swedish police on June 25 last year following a request from Beijing.
Lawyer Henrik Olsson Lilja, who has represented Qiao since November, said his client attended an extradition hearing on Tuesday and the Supreme Court announced his release the following day.
While the Supreme Court has yet to discuss the matter with the government in Stockholm, Lilja said it had “made a preliminary decision not to extradite him”.
