Jailed gambling tycoon alleges inhumane treatment in Thai prison amid extradition battle

She Zhijiang, a China-born gambling tycoon with Cambodian citizenship, has alleged inhumane treatment in a Thai prison while fighting extradition to China. His lawyers claim that She has been subjected to violence, solitary confinement, and other human rights abuses.

She was arrested in Bangkok in 2022 on an international warrant and an Interpol red notice issued by Beijing, which accuses him of running illegal online gambling operations across Southeast Asia. His lawyers, Clara Gerard-Rodriguez and Pierre-Olivier Sur, allege that She’s treatment violates international norms.

According to a letter sent to Interpol on 9 January, the tycoon has been denied medical care for a spinal injury, kept in solitary confinement, and subjected to physical violence, which has left him unable to walk. The letter also alleges that She has received unwanted visits from Chinese officials attempting to persuade him to return to China, which he perceives as threats.

“These elements lead us to seriously fear for our client’s life,” the lawyers wrote in their letter, shared with Reuters. They are seeking to have the Interpol red notice against him rescinded.

Thai authorities have declined to comment, with the Ministry of Justice referring inquiries to the Department of Corrections, which has not responded. Beijing’s embassy in Bangkok and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have similarly remained silent.

Claims of political motivation

She claims his detention is politically motivated. He told Al Jazeera in September 2023 that he was targeted after refusing to comply with Chinese authorities’ demands to develop a town on the Thai-Myanmar border, where his company, Yatai International Holdings Group, had built a US$5 billion casino and entertainment complex.

“They wanted a colony. I wanted to do business,” She said in the interview.

China has been increasing pressure on Southeast Asian countries to crack down on gambling and scam operations run by Chinese-origin syndicates. Such operations often involve fraud and human trafficking, creating a regional crisis.

Allegations of abuse and Chinese pressure

In October 2023, She was transferred to a maximum-security prison in Bangkok, housing inmates serving long sentences or awaiting execution. According to his lawyers, he was “brutally tackled” by officers and fellow inmates in late October, leading to severe injuries. He now requires a wheelchair for mobility.

In December, Chinese embassy officials reportedly visited him twice in prison against his will. The lawyers claim that during these visits, officials pressured She to return to China and hinted that his family and friends might require the embassy’s assistance, which he interpreted as a veiled threat.

Gambling empire and international controversy

Before his arrest, She headed a significant gambling operation, with projects in Myanmar, Cambodia, and the Philippines. Yatai International Holdings Group, the company behind the Shwe Kokko complex on the Thai-Myanmar border, denies involvement in criminal activities, including allegations of human trafficking.

She has alleged that he was recruited as a spy by China’s Ministry of State Security in exchange for dropping a criminal case against him in the Philippines. He worked with a former Philippine mayor, Alice Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping, who has faced her own allegations of graft and links to offshore gambling targeting Chinese nationals.

Guo has denied accusations of espionage and other wrongdoing.

Legal and human rights implications

She’s lawyers argue that the treatment he has endured violates human rights and undermines the principles of international judicial cooperation. “The blatant abuses of process and gross human rights violations committed by China should by themselves be an obstacle to extradition,” Gerard-Rodriguez told Reuters.

Interpol has stated that its red notices must comply with rules that prohibit political, military, religious, or racial motives, but declined to comment further on She’s case.