Last Updated on July 12, 2020, 7:00 AM AST by Anthony Morris
A Stockholm court acquitted the Swedish ex-ambassador to China from the accusations of going beyond her powers for having talks with a foreign power.
Anna Lindstedt faced a possible jail term for brokering a meeting for securing the release of a Hong Kong bookseller who was jailed in China.
Chinese-Swedish Gui Minhai is currently serving a 10-year sentence for providing intelligence overseas illegally.
Gui Minhai is also accused of writing unflattering profiles of the Chinese leaders.
The meeting brokered by Ambassador Lindstedt was between his daughter Angela Gui and two Chinese businessmen in January 2019.
The district court while rejecting the charges decided that the ambassador had acted in line with her mission as ambassador.
It added that the two businessmen who were at the meeting could not be considered be representing a foreign power.
In court, Ms Lindstedt had said that it is unreal, not to say Kafkaesque to stand accused of crimes against national security.
She was the first ambassador to face charges in Sweden in the past 200 years.
The prosecutor argued that she had acted in violation of the Swedish foreign policy by arranging the negotiations.
Anna Lindstedt was recalled from China in February 2019 after she was accused of brokering an unauthorised meeting between Angela Gui and the two Chinese businessmen at the Sheraton Hotel in Stockholm, the businessmen were said to have connections with the Communist Party of China.
Before the meeting, Ms Gui was campaigning for the release of her father and then said that she was invited to the meeting by Ms Lindstedt, who told her that there were some businessmen which she thought could help her and that they wanted to meet her in Stockholm.
Ms Gui alleged that during a meeting over two days, one of the businessmen had told her to accept a deal which involved a “few years” in jail if she would stop publicising the detention of her father.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
