The way Swedish prisoners are treated should be examined

For nearly 20 years, journalist Dawit Isaac has been imprisoned in Eritrea, while publisher and author Gui Minhai has been detained in China since 2015. “Silent diplomacy,” that is, work done secretly by the government and foreign ministry, has been questioned over the years.

An independent commission will now examine how the various governments and authorities involved in the release are working, after Parliament requested it earlier this year.

Access to confidential information

According to Foreign Secretary Anne Lind (X), the Commission will have full transparency of what has been accomplished.

– You will have access to all this confidential and confidential information, she tells TT.

It also stresses that work to secure the release of the Swedes is still ongoing, and it is important that the review does not negatively affect this process.

Hello review

Reporters Without Borders welcomes the review, although it considers it to have taken an unnecessarily long time.

We hope that the Riksdag will have the opportunity to find out what the various governments and foreign ministers have done to Dawit Isaac and Guy Minhai. We did our own survey last year and it was clear we didn’t know what had been done for Dawit Isaac for 20 years and Linhai Minhai for six years, says Eric Halkier, president of Reporters Without Borders.

“I wish I knew the truth”

Bethlehem Isaac, daughter of Dawit Isaac, also welcomes the review. She hopes to get more clarity on what happened in her father’s case.

– I hope we will find out the truth, what has been done and where it has not been done. I don’t think my father is the last journalist to be hurt abroad and I hope you learn something from this, she says.

The review will begin on July 1 and will end by March of next year.

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