For many athletes, Olympic victories are the greatest thing that can be achieved. Swede Nils van der Poel won two gold medals in Beijing. But he gave one away.
The Swedish speed skating Olympic champion Nils van der Poel gives the book publisher Gui Minhai, who is imprisoned in China, one of the gold medals he won in Beijing. This was announced by the human rights organization Amnesty International on Friday. The 25-year-old presented the medal to Gui Minhai’s daughter Angela Gui, who has been fighting for her father’s release for years.
“Chinese government uses dreams as a weapon”
“I don’t speak for all Olympians, but me and my friends within the sport have spent our lives striving for the top, and the Chinese government is using our dreams as a political weapon to legitimize their regime,” he said van der Poel quoted in an Amnesty statement. He felt exploited and wished that there would be fewer human rights violations in China and that Gui Minhai would be released.
Van der Poel had won Olympic gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in Beijing. Which of the two medals he presented to Angela Gui remained unclear.
Judgment anniversary
Gui Minhai is a Swedish citizen. In Hong Kong, he had published and distributed politically sensitive books on China until his mysterious disappearance in 2015. In 2020 he was sentenced to ten years in prison for alleged espionage – this Friday marked the second anniversary of this sentence.
“We continue to demand consular access and we strongly insist that Gui Minhai be released and reunited with his daughter and family,” said Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde.