Published on Jun 7, 2003

Despite five weeks of detention without facing a single charge, a Swedish Falun Gong practitioner said before being deported that she had no hard feelings towards Thailand or its people.

"I still care for and respect Thailand and Thai people very much," said Pirjo Svensson at Bangkok international airport on Thursday night.

"But I hope that the Thai government will, from now on, make better decisions about Falun Gong and not take such actions against human rights in the future."

Police raided Svensson's apartment on April 29 and confiscated items related to Falun Gong.

She was arrested on suspicion that she was planning a demonstration against Chinese President Hu Jintao [should be Chinese premier Wen Jiabao], who visited Bangkok that day for a conference on the SARS crisis.

[...]

Svensson was handed over to the immigration police and her visa revoked.

Reading from a statement, Svensson said: "I was not questioned, but they [the police] went through my materials. Police said that because of the materials my visa would be revoked.

"I have obeyed all laws and have not been charged with any crime. I have been waiting five weeks for my appeal to be heard, only to be told that the Thai government decided not to consider my appeal," she said.

Svensson said she simply exercised, meditated, studied and applied the principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.

"We are not against China or any country. We only tell people the terrible things that [former Chinese president] Jiang Zemin and a few others have done against humanity," she said.

She was accompanied from the immigration lock-up to the airport by Swedish Ambassador to Thailand Jan Axel Nordlander.

The embassy had lodged an official protest with the Thai government over Svensson's detention and demanded her immediate release.

Stockholm also summoned Thai diplomats to receive a protest note. However, there was no response, and Svensson remained in custody without being charged.

The embassy on Thursday issued a statement saying that the Thai authorities' opinion that Svensson constituted a risk to the country's security was "hard to comprehend". It is "regrettable" if Thailand, which has acceded to the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and is respected as a leading country in the protection of human rights and democracy, now does not respect its obligations, the embassy's statement said.

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