Anna Lindstedt

Anna Kerstin Erica Lindstedt (born 6 April 1960) was the Swedish Ambassador to Beijing from 2016 to early 2019.

Lindstedt in 2012

Education and career

Lindstedt grew up in Lund, where she studied at the Lund University.[1] Concurrent with her post in China, Lindstedt served as Ambassador of Sweden to Mongolia. She also served as Ambassador of Sweden to Mexico (2006–2011) and Vietnam (2003–2006). Prior to joining the Foreign Service, she worked as a journalist and teacher.[2]

Backdoor diplomacy controversy

In February 2019, Gui Minhai's daughter Angela made a blog post documenting a "very strange experience" involving Lindstedt. In it, she alleged that Lindstedt contacted her in mid-January and invited her to a meeting in Stockholm that she had set up with some Chinese businessmen who she thought could help secure her father's release.[3]

Angela recounted in her blog that the meetings were held at a private lounge in a Stockholm hotel, where she was sequestered for days, and was even escorted to and from the bathroom. The men, who claimed to have "connections within the Chinese Communist Party", apparently used a mixture of inducements, manipulation and threats on her. She was told that her father's release would be contingent on her stopping her campaign and avoiding media engagement. They offered her a Chinese visa as well as a job in the Chinese embassy.[3] To Angela, Ambassador Lindstedt's presence and seemingly supportive stance suggested the talks were initiated by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. She nevertheless felt uncomfortable with the meetings. When she later made inquiries of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, it said it was unaware of the events.[3]

The Chinese Embassy in Stockholm denied any involvement; the Swedish Ministry said it was not aware of the events until after the meetings had taken place. It confirmed to the press that the ambassador had been recalled, and that an internal investigation into the incident was under way.[4][3][5] Prosecutors investigated her “for breaching the country's national security by ‘arbitrary conduct when negotiating with a foreign power.‘“[6] On 9 December, Lindstedt was charged by Swedish prosecutors for "arbitrariness during negotiations with a foreign power", an unprecedented charge in modern Sweden, with a possible maximum prison sentence of 2 years.[7] Later on, her trial in Stockholm District Court started in June 2020.[8] On 10 July the lower court ruled that the prosecutors could not prove Anna Lindstedt had exceeded her authority and acquitted her of the charges against her.[9]

References
  1. "Vår röst I Paris". Naturskyddsföreningen (in Swedish). 24 November 2015.
  2. "AMBASSADOR OF SWEDEN ANNA LINDSTEDT" (PDF). Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  3. Lyons, Kate (14 February 2019). "Sweden investigates its Beijing ambassador over 'strange' meetings". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  4. "Ambassador to China Anna Lindstedt sent back to Sweden after Gui Minhai reports". South China Morning Post. 14 February 2019.
  5. "'Threats, verbal abuse, bribes, flattery' won't silence me: Sweden probes unauthorised meeting with daughter of bookseller detained in China". Hong Kong Free Press. 14 February 2019.
  6. "Sweden sends new ambassador to China in wake of diplomatic scandal". The Local. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  7. Magra, Iliana; Buckley, Chris (9 December 2019). "Sweden Charges Ex-Ambassador to China Over Secret Meetings". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  8. "China-Sweden: Ex-ambassador Lindstedt on trial for risking security". BBC. 5 June 2020.
  9. "Swedish Ex-Envoy Acquitted of Planning Illegal China Meeting". Associated Press. 10 June 2020 – via The New York Times.
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