Report from Swedish Newspaper The Expressen: Swede Pirjo Svensson Arrested in Bangkok Without Being Charged

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The arrest of Swedish Falun Gong practitioner Mrs Pirjo Svensson in Bangkok, headlined Sweden’s mainstream media which emphasised her innocence and the swift response of Thailand’s Swedish Embassy. The following report was translated on May 1st from The Expressen, the biggest evening daily in Sweden.

Swedish Falun Gong practitioner, Mrs Pirjo Svensson, has been sitting, feeling confused about her arrest. People have begun to start worrying about her role as a pawn in the political game between China and Thailand.

Pirjo Svensson, 44, has been living with her husband John, a computer engineer, in Bangkok for nearly 3 years.

On Tuesday morning there was a knock on their door, five policemen entered and searched her apartment. There they found some material about Falun Gong, a meditation movement banned in China.

Pirjo Svensson has been an active Falun Gong practitioner for several years.

Police took her to the Immigration Detention Centre, where she has been held until now.

On Tuesday afternoon, Pirjo Svensson talked on the phone with Lilly Wang, her friend who lives in Gothenburg, but has not yet been officially charged. The Immigration officer said that she is suspected of illegal behaviour, but could not say what the illegal behaviour was.

Video Footage found

During their search, police found a video featuring a documentary about human rights abuses in China. “They revoked her visa and claimed this video is detrimental to society,” Lilly Wang said.

Pirjo Svensson’s Falun Gong friends summarised the reason for the pressure from China: the Chinese Premier visited Thailand on Tuesday, the day Pirjo Svensson was arrested.

Thai Falun Gong practitioner Teresa stated,”However, we do not have any plan to stage a protest during the visit of the Chinese leader.”

Strong Response from the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok

The Consul General of the Swedish Embassy, Stellan Berg, said, “We have issued a diplomatic note to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to demand an immediate explanation about this.


Translated from Chinese at http://yuanming.net/articles/200305/20011.html

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