A former British consulate employee in Hong Kong claims that he was tortured in China and interrogated about the UK’s involvement with the pro-democracy protests. Simon Cheng was detained for 15 days while on a trip to China in August according to a statement made Wednesday. Cheng claims that he was beaten, blindfolded, chained and deprived of sleep while being interrogated about the UK’s role, his own participation, and the participation of his friends in the Hong Kong protests. Cheng also stated that the Chinese police told him that dozens of protestors had been caught and detained in mainland China.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab endorsed many of Cheng’s claims, stated that he was appalled by his former employee’s treatment while in Chinese detention. Cheng stated that Chinese police forced him to sign confessions and accused him of being a Chinese spy. Cheng stated that he waited so long to speak out due to threats from the Chinese of extradition back to China detention centers from his residency in Hong Kong. Cheng, now seemingly undeterred by the threats, said that he will continue to fight for human rights and democracy. Cheng has since fled to an undisclosed country and is seeking asylum, as well as negotiating with the UK consulate on his severance package after being asked to resign.
Read More: Former British consulate worker says he was tortured in China over UK’s role in Hong Kong protests