Human rights group urges Western democracies to suspend bilateral extradition agreements with China over Beijing's "abusive warrants, bounties and groundless charges"

In December, the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) issued arrest warrants and 1 million HKD bounties on the heads of five Hong Kong democracy activists and human rights defenders.

Safeguard Defenders, a rights organization focused on China, says Beijing uses international agreements to legitimate authoritative rules even on non-Chinese citizens living in the west. Among others, the NGO names U.S. citizen Joey Siu and the Australian citizen Kevin Yam.

Recently, Hong Kong authorities named three foreign citizens – Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) Executive Director Luke de Pulford, IPAC regional liaison and former Japanese MP Shiori Kanno, the driving force behind the Global Magnitsky targeted sanctions regime, Bill Browder - as “co-conspirators” in fabricated “collusion with foreign forces” charges against former Apple Daily editor and UK citizen Jimmy Lai under the so-called National Security Law. Former Apple Daily executive and US citizen Mark Simon is the fourth foreign national named as a co-conspirator to publish “seditious content”.