Special unit of Chinese police exists in Athens: Report

According to exclusive information from journalist Vassilis Lambropoulos, a special unit of the Chinese police is in Athens, reported Greek publication, Directus.

These units house people from China who seek out, threaten and blackmail Chinese dissidents to return home and suffer the consequences of their political choices.

As the newspaper revealed, on Agesilaou Street in the centre of Athens, there is a branch of the Chinese police department. In fact, the building uses as a storefront a supposed service office for Chinese citizens.

The dissidents are intimidated, kidnapped and forced transferred to China, reported Directus.

For this "department", there is a long-term investigation by the Hellenic Police. In fact, similar units of the Chinese police seem to exist in other countries as well.

Several reports of Chinese police stations in various parts of the world have sparked outrage and debate in the parliaments of various countries spanning five continents, investigative publication Ij-Reportika reported.

The Ij-Reportika has published the addresses of the Chinese police stations present in various parts of the world that reportedly work to curb dissent and conduct espionage-related activities.

China has adopted an illegitimate method to apprehend overseas citizens they perceive as offenders, according to the recently released report by the Madrid-based human rights organization, Safeguard Defenders.

In order to apprehend overseas offenders, security agencies usually take the assistance of INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization. Diplomatically, the establishment of bilateral extradition treaties is another procedure.

However, China has placed dozens of police "service stations" in major cities around the world as security agencies, according to a Safeguard Defenders report titled "110 Overseas - Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild".

It exposes how the campaign was launched on a humble scale in 2018 to allegedly combat the growing issue of fraud and telecommunication fraud by Chinese nationals living abroad.

Now, these so-called "service stations" are violating the international rule of law. The Chinese have set up a parallel policing mechanism in some 53 countries to target dissidents and place surveillance on their own nationals.

The report claimed that from April 2021 to July 2022, 230,000 nationals had been "persuaded to return" to face criminal proceedings in China. "Inside, they are already controlling but outside, it is more difficult to control so, therefore, they want to focus on dissident Chinese who live in free countries, not to speak freely," said Thubten Wangchen, Tibetan living in Exile.

Safeguard Defenders also revealed how overseas Chinese diaspora associations are tied to the Chinese Community Party's United Front Work Department. Some of these organisations are registered to handle a liaison role with the Chinese police, in violation of local regulations.

The details of China's overseas campaign have stunned security agencies and governments in Europe, Canada and the United States. FBI Director Christopher Wray said the United States is deeply concerned about unauthorised Chinese police stations in cities like New York, as they violate the sovereignty and circumvent standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation processes.

Canada and the Netherlands are also joining the United States in launching investigations into these secret Chinese police stations. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it takes "threats to the security of individuals living in Canada very seriously and is aware that foreign states may seek to intimidate or harm communities or individuals within Canada.

"People being approached either using threat or some other way to persuade them to return home," said Rahime, who is staying in London and is associated with World Uyghur Congress.

Beijing has been accused of using illegal methods against targeted individuals or their family members, which undermines any due process and the most basic rights of suspects. Furthermore, the disregard for the use of proper channels and processes in international relations is blatant.

Despite ample evidence, the Chinese foreign ministry denies claims that officials backed by Beijing are running police operations abroad without the knowledge of host governments. Beijing further claims that the police contact points are in fact "overseas Chinese service centers," manned by the diaspora community and set up to assist with administrative tasks.

According to Ij-Reportika, the most shocking presence of Chinese police stations can be seen in South Asia, South East Asia, South America, and a host of African countries. These have become the new hotspot of the Chinese police stations, the report adds.

( With inputs from ANI )

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