One of China's most prominent dissidents, Hu Jia, has been released after serving more than three years in jail on subversion charges. "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 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 long-scheduled release in the early hours of Sunday followed the freeing of prominent artist and activist Ai Weiwei. The releases came while Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was 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.