Jessica Sänger, Chair of the IPA’s Freedom to Publish Committee said: Publishers need booksellers for their works to reach their readers. Their work is essential for the trinity of freedoms – the freedom of expression, the freedom to publish and the freedom to read – to be secured in practice. We back the EIBF’s support for the booksellers at Book Punch whose detention illustrates how Hong Kong’s book sector has changed. It is another shocking reminder of our 2018 Prix Voltaire laureate, Gui Minhai, the Swedish / Hong Kong publisher and bookseller who remains in prison for his work promoting the trinity of freedoms.
Earlier, EIBF President Fabian Paagman, had stated:
Booksellers play a vital role in society by making diverse ideas, perspectives, and debates accessible to the public. Their freedom to curate and offer a wide range of literature is essential to fostering a vibrant cultural landscape and an informed, curious society. The arrest of booksellers for simply providing access to knowledge and literature is an unacceptable attack on intellectual freedom. The EIBF stands firmly with all those who defend the right to read, publish, and sell books without fear of repression.
You can read the full EIBF statement here:
https://europeanbooksellers.eu/press/eibf-condemns-arrest-hong-kong-booksellers