Chinese dissident released

Security personnel and policemen block the road that leads to the residence of Chinese dissident Hu Jia. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Prominent Chinese dissident Hu Jia was reunited with his family early today after serving three-and-a-half-years in jail on subversion charges.

He needs rest and is not ready to speak in public, his wife said.

Mr Hu (37) was convicted in 2008 for "inciting subversion of state power" for criticising human rights restrictions in China, and was seen by some supporters as a potential recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize before it went to another jailed Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo, last year.

"He is back home with his parents and me," his wife, Zeng Jinyan, told Reuters. "I don't know if he can speak later. At the moment, I want everything to be peaceful. I'm worried that doing interviews at this stage might cause problems. Please understand."

Mr Hu's long-scheduled release followed this week's abrupt freeing from detention of the prominent artist and activist Ai Weiwei, and has come while Chinese premier Wen Jiabao is visiting Europe on trips to Hungary, Britain and Germany.

Asked how Mr Hu's health was, his mother, Feng Juan, said: "It's so so. He was in a very good mood. The first thing he did after coming home was to take a bath. Then he had a meal."

China's Communist Party has cracked down on dissent since February, responding to fears that uprisings across the Arab world could also inspire challenges to its one-party rule, especially ahead of a leadership succession late in 2012.

Many dissidents detained in that drive have been ordered by authorities to stay silent after their release. Mr Hu's wife and other advocates have voiced concern that Chinese authorities might also impose restrictions on him amounting to house arrest after his formal release.

Reuters

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