Malaysia – The Star, Dec. 11, 2025
China rejected on Thursday (Dec 11) any “interference” in its judicial sovereignty after a United Nations working group called for the immediate release of jailed Chinese-Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai.
Gui, one of five Hong Kong-based booksellers known for publishing salacious titles about China’s political leaders, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2020 on espionage charges.
Human rights experts called Gui’s detention “arbitrary” in an opinion adopted by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) dated October and made public on Wednesday.
Asked about the WGAD call for the bookseller’s release, Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Gui was “sentenced by a Chinese court for serious criminal offences”.
“China is a country governed by the rule of law, where judicial authorities strictly handle cases in accordance with the law,” the spokesman told reporters at a regular briefing.
Beijing “opposes any interference in its judicial sovereignty by any country, organisation or individual in any form”, he added.
