‘I would have been killed’: France grants asylum to wife of ex-Interpol chief Meng Hongwei
- Lawyers argue Grace Meng would be in danger in China after criticising authorities for the handling of her husband’s case
- She and their two young sons granted refugee status last week
The wife of Meng Hongwei, the former Interpol president facing trial in China for what she believes are political reasons, said on Monday that France had saved her life and the lives of their two young boys by granting her asylum request.
The French government office that rules on asylum requests rendered its decision last week, granting her refugee status, Grace Meng’s legal team said. The asylum office did not respond to inquiries by phone and email, and the French Interior Ministry said it did not comment on individual cases.
Grace Meng said the guarantee of being able to stay in France, where Meng Hongwei was stationed with Interpol, offered her family greater security while she pursued her struggle to get information from China about her husband’s whereabouts and even whether he was still alive.
“If France hadn’t protected me, I would have been killed ages ago,” she said. “It’s a second life for us, me and my children.”
Her last communication with her husband was an emoji of a knife he texted her from China soon before he disappeared on a trip to Beijing in September. Chinese authorities subsequently announced that Meng Hongwei was in detention, accused of corruption.
