Swedish prosecutors have charged a 49-year-old Tibetan man living in Sweden with spying on fellow exiles for the Chinese government, according to Swedish media. The suspect, who worked for the newspaper Voice of Tibet, is accused of supplying Chinese authorities with information about the families, housing situations, and travel plans of individuals deemed important to the Chinese regime.
State prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said the man had been in contact with Chinese officials in Poland and Finland and received 50,000 krona (£5,850) on one occasion. “This is a very serious crime,” Ljungqvist told reporters, noting that the suspect was deeply embedded in the Tibetan community. The suspect’s name has not been released.
The charge escalates tensions between Sweden and China following the detention of Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai, who was taken from a train in China in the presence of Swedish consular officials. Gui remains in detention, and Sweden’s foreign minister, Margot Wallström, has called China’s treatment of him “unacceptable.”
Sweden is home to approximately 140 Tibetan exiles, according to the Tibetan Community in Sweden. The group’s Jamyang Choedon said this is the first time spying by China within the Tibetan community has been officially investigated. Uighur exiles in Sweden have also reported pressure to spy on each other, with Chinese authorities allegedly leveraging family members in Xinjiang.
