Swede held in China for ‘inciting opposition’

China’s state media on Tuesday published an apparent confession from a Swedish human rights activist detained amid a crackdown on outspoken lawyers and accused him of inciting “opposition to the government”.

Peter Dahlin, who worked for the Chinese Urgent Action Working Group, was detained earlier in January as he prepared to board a flight from Beijing.

It is rare for China to accuse foreigners of national security offences, which can carry heavy penalties, although some have been accused of spying.

The official Xinhua news agency said Mr Dahlin’s organisation, also known as China Action, was “encouraging the masses to oppose the government”.

It did not clearly state which of Mr Dahlin’s activities constituted a crime, but said China Action staff “collected many kinds of negative information about China, and distorted them... to provide so-called China human rights reports”.

China Action said it provided training to human rights lawyers who have tried to use China’s tightly-controlled judiciary to redress apparent government abuses.