The government is asking for a sentence transfer for a Norwegian salmon seller imprisoned in China

The woman, who has both Norwegian and Chinese citizenship, was arrested and imprisoned in China in 2018. She was charged with smuggling Norwegian salmon from Vietnam to China and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Now the government has intervened and asked that the woman can continue to serve her sentence in Norway, writes NRK.

– The Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness found that there are sufficient grounds to be able to recommend a sentence transfer, and this was approved by the Cabinet. In other words, the application for a sentence transfer has been approved by the Cabinet, says a letter the ministry has sent to the woman’s husband.

Denied that anything wrong had been done

Chinese authorities believed to have uncovered the smuggling of salmon to a value of between NOK 150 and 180 million. At the time the woman was arrested, Norwegian salmon was practically banned from the Chinese market in the wake of the 2010 Peace Prize being awarded to Chinese regime critic Liu Xiaobo.

The woman represented, among other things, the farming giant Salmar, which denied that anything wrong had been done. All exports took place in accordance with current rules and with the necessary licenses in order, the company stated in 2018.

– In high time

MDG’s Rasmus Hansson has previously been involved in the case and took the stand earlier this month written question to the government about what to do next in the matter. Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) replied that the case has been given high priority, and that the woman and the family have received close follow-up from the Norwegian embassy in China.

– It is good and high time that the government will ask for a sentence transfer. We can hope that Støre did enough preparatory work when he recently met China’s leadership, says Hansson to NTB.

He believes that this will also be a test of Norway’s relationship with China.