It was only a matter of time before the Chinese Communist Party really came for Drew Pavlou.
Pavlou is the Australian human rights activist who first came to attention when he was a student, subjected to an extraordinary campaign of harassment from University of Queensland, after he organised protests against China’s human rights abuses, and against the presence of CCP figures and funding at the university.
Undeterred, Pavlou went on to run political candidates from Australia’s Uyghur, Taiwanese, Tibetan and Falun Gong communities in the 2022 Federal election. More recently, he travelled to London to take part in protests at Wimbledon, on behalf of Chinese tennis player Feng Shuai: Shuai was “disappeared” after she accused a high-ranking CCP official of sexual harassment.
Wimbledon is significantly funded by CCP-linked companies, and its security violently ejected Pavlou.
That was just the start of his troubles.
Australian activist Drew Pavlou has said he was the victim of an “orchestrated campaign” before his arrest over a false “bomb threat” after it emerged that human rights leaders and politicians have been receiving emails from an account purporting to be him in recent days.
Even in Australia, the apparent reach of the CCP is long: Pavlou was arrested for holding a blank sign one inch above the footpath outside the Chinese consulate in Brisbane.
Before his arrest, an account purporting to be Pavlou sent what he described as an “absurd” false bomb threat to the Chinese embassy in central London. The email is alleged to have said:
“This is Drew Pavlou, you have until 12pm to stop the Uyghur genocide or I blow up the embassy with a bomb. Regards, Drew.”
It couldn’t have been more absurd if the email had threatened to place the embassy “under the rest”. But that wasn’t the point. The embassy immediately reported Pavlou to police as a “terrorist”.
Guardian Australia has confirmed that other human rights leaders have received apparently fake emails from Pavlou in recent days. Luke de Pulford, a London-based human rights campaigner, said he had received a flurry of emails purporting to be from Pavlou, including one referencing the recent removal of tariffs by the United States on Chinese imports.
“Begs the questions, is there really genocide in China?” the email said.
Fake emails have been sent for at least two years.
At least one of the emails sent to de Pulford was also sent to Kevin Carrico, a senior lecturer in Chinese Studies at Monash University […] confirmed to the Guardian he had been receiving emails from a Gmail account purporting to belong to Pavlou as far back as 2020. He has received three emails from the account this month, including one which called him a “clown” and another that called him “fatso”.
The ABC also reported that the Liberal senator James Paterson and other human rights leaders had received emails purported to come from Pavlou.
It’s been an orchestrated campaign, not unlike that unleashed against Australian swimmer Mack Horton, after he accused Chinese athletes of cheating. Horton received months of harassing phone calls, people lurking around the family home, and broken glass dumped in his swimming pool.
But then, this is the CCP, who honed their bullying skills in brutal Maoist “Struggle Sessions”.
“Fake Drew Pavlou emails continue to be sent to politicians and human rights leaders,” he told the Guardian. “I just want this mental torture to stop.”
“I’ve slept five hours in two days. I’m so tired.”
The Met arrested Pavlou and held him for 23 hours without charge. He’s still not allowed to leave the country.
The foreign affairs department confirmed it was offering consular assistance to Pavlou.
“Officials from Australia’s High Commission in London will raise Mr Pavlou’s claim that he was denied consular access before being released with UK authorities,” a spokesperson said.
The Guardian
Despite consular officials querying the Met refuses to say whether Pavlou can leave Britain or not. Meaning that he faces arrest if he tries to come home.
The tentacles of the CCP reach far and wide.