China frees dissident Hu Jia

China frees dissident Hu Jia

Hu was imprisoned for criticising human rights conditions in China ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

One of China's most prominent dissidents, Hu Jia, has been released after serving three and half-years in jail.

"He is back home with his parents and me," his wife, Zeng Jingyan, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Hu Jia was arrested in December 2007 after a long period of confinement at his home. He was sentenced in April 2008 by Beijing People's Intermediary Court No.1 for "incitement to subvert state power."

Hu had written a series of articles ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games criticising the Chinese government on the state of human rights in China.

His release in the early hours of Sunday follows the freeing of prominent artist and activist Ai Weiwei. The releases come while Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is visiting Europe on trips to Hungary, Britain and Germany.

But activists worry that despite their release, the dissidents will not be free in their movement or expression.

"Hu Jia should never have been imprisoned in the first place," Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement ahead of his release.

She called on the Chinese government not to put Hu "under house arrest or other extra-judicial deprivations of liberty.

"If that injustice is compounded by another form of detention, it will show just how shallow the Chinese government's ‘rule of law' commitments are."

Restrictions remain

Hu's wife said in her interview with Reuters that she did know if her husband could speak to media later.

"At the moment, I want everything to be peaceful. I'm worried that doing interviews at this stage might cause problems. Please understand."   

Ai Weiwei, after his release, seemed uncomfortable speaking to the media and turned down questions.
Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas, reported from Beijing that Ai "said that he couldn't tell us anything at all except that he can't tell us anything".

Catherine Barber, deputy director of the UK-based Amnesty International's Asia Pacific programme, told Al Jazeera it "certainly looks like Ai Weiwei is under continuing restrictions" of some kind.

Ai Weiwei and Jia Hu's release comes after months of high profile campaigning by human rights activists.

Amnesty International calls for further pressure on the Chinese government regarding those who still remain in detention.

"Ai Weiwei is one of 130 people detained since February and many of them are still anguishing in secret detention," Barber told Al Jazeera.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies