Chinese police detain bookseller Gui Minhai again, New York Times reports

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - China has seized Hong Kong-based bookseller Gui Minhai for a second time after releasing him from custody in October, the New York Times reported on Monday.

Gui, who has Swedish citizenship, was taken away on Saturday by plainclothes police officers as he travelled by train to Beijing, in the company of two Swedish diplomats, The New York Times said.

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported incident.

Gui was first abducted on holiday in Thailand in 2015, one of five Hong Kong booksellers who went missing that year and later appeared in custody on the Chinese mainland.

He was held for publishing books on the personal lives of Communist Party leaders. Chinese authorities said he was released in October last year, although his whereabouts remained unclear.

Sweden's foreign ministry said Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom had summoned China's ambassador over the issue.

The ministry would not comment on what had happened on Saturday, but an official said Sweden was aware and would be able to provide more information, possibly on Tuesday.

"The Swedish Government is fully aware of what happened on Jan. 20. Firm actions have been taken at a high political level and we have been in contact with Chinese officials who have promised us immediate information about his condition," the official, Patric Nilsson, said.

Gui Minhai had been kept in China and forced to report regularly to the police, his daughter, Angela Gui, told the New York Times by phone from Britain, where she is a graduate student. Reuters was not immediately able to reach Angela Gui.

Chinese authorities have said Gui was involved in a traffic accident in 2003, although that has been questioned by his family.

(Reporting by Johan Sennero, additional reporting by Christian Shepherd in Beijing, writing by Daniel Dickson; Editing by Richard Balmforth)