Detained Swedish Rights Activist 'Confesses' to Breaking the Law on Chinese State TV

A Swedish national has appeared on Chinese state television "confessing" to breaking the law through the activities of his human rights group, which China has accused of endangering national security.

"I violated China's law through my activity here," said Peter Dahlin, the 35-year-old co-founder of the Chinese Urgent Action Working Group, who Chinese authorities confirmed had been detained earlier this month. "I have hurt the feelings of the Chinese people. I apologize sincerely for this and I am very sorry that this ever happened."

Beijing has accused Dahlin of operating an unlicensed organization which "hired and trained others to gather, fabricate, and distort information about China."

His apparent confession comes one day after Hong Kong confirmed that missing British citizen Lee Bo, who sold books critical of Beijing, is in mainland China. And it is two days since Bo's colleague Gui Minhai, a Swedish bookseller who went missing in October, was paraded on Chinese state television "confessing" to a 12-year-old drunk driving offense.

The two booksellers are among five linked to book publisher Mighty Current, which produces material banned by the government in mainland China, who have gone missing in recent months.

Related: The Missing Hong Kong Bookseller's Family Isn't Buying His Televised Confession

Dahlin's Chinese Urgent Action Working Group describes itself "a team of human rights defenders working in mainland China composed of Chinese academics, lawyers, and political professionals." It says it works with a wide network of activists "to help fellow human rights defenders in distress."

State-owned news agency Xinhua claimed the group "organized others to interfere with sensitive cases, deliberately aggravating disputes, and instigating public-government confrontations to create mass incidents," using the Chinese euphemism for protests.

Peter Dahlin begins speaking at 2:00 minutes.

Two other unidentified members of the organization said "Western anti-China forces had planted Dahlin and some other people in China to gather negative information for anti-China purposes such as smear campaigns", claimed Xinhua.

The agency said Dahlin had confessed that all of the reports on China's human rights were "compiled via online research and could not reflect reality." "Not seeing some cases myself, I cannot guarantee they are true," the report quoted him as saying.

Michael Caster, a spokesman for the Chinese Urgent Action Working Group, denounced the accusations against Dahlin. "It's absurd to claim Peter was engaged in malicious efforts to attack or discredit China," Caster said.

"To purport that Peter was 'planted' in China by foreign forces is part of a trend by Chinese authorities of blaming 'hostile foreign forces' for domestic grievances," he added.

Related: Hong Kong Bookstores Scrap Banned Books After Bookseller Disappearances

China's crackdown on human rights, as well as several cases involving European Union citizens detained in China, were issues of "grave concern," said the EU ambassador to China, Hans Dietmar Schweisgut.

"We wish to see full transparency and access," Schweisgut said at a news conference, adding that the EU had raised its concerns with China.

Critics say televised apparent confessions deprive the accused of the right to a fair trial.

Dahlin suffers from Addison's disease, a disorder of the adrenal glands and potentially life-threatening condition unless properly medicated daily, according to his organization.

Asked whether Dahlin had been threatened with a withdrawal of medication in order to secure a confession, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Swede had seen doctors while in detention and received medication.

"China protects the legitimate rights of foreigners in China in accordance with the law," Hong said at a daily news conference.

It was not possible to reach Dahlin for comment and unclear whether he has a lawyer. Sweden's embassy in Beijing said it continued to work "intensively" on the matter and that its diplomats had visited Dahlin on Saturday.

"He is feeling well considering the circumstances," Gabriella Augustsson, head of public diplomacy for the Swedish embassy in Beijing, said in an email.

On Tuesday, Britain said it remains deeply concerned about Lee Bo, a British publisher of books critical of China's leaders who went missing in Hong Kong, and is pressing for information about his welfare.

Hong said he was "unclear" about Lee's case, and declined further comment.

Related: Britain Ignores China's Troubling Human Rights Record with Royal Welcome for Leader, Activists Say