China arrests rights activist for 'inciting subversion'
Sunday, December 30, 2007
POLICE in China have arrested prominent rights activist Hu Jia on charges of inciting subversion amid a crackdown ahead of the Beijing Olympics next year, activists and a rights group said yesterday.
"The police have arrested him and are accusing him of inciting subversion," rights defender and Hu's friend Liu Feiyue said here.
A group known as Chinese Human Rights Defenders said police forced their way into Hu's home in Beijing on Thursday, cut off his telephone and Internet connections and took him away.
"We believe that Hu Jia was criminally detained solely because of his peaceful activities in promoting human rights," the group said in a statement that called for his immediate and unconditional release.
Hu's wife Zeng Jinyan, also a well known dissident, remains under house arrest with her one-month-old baby daughter, the group said. Activists said police had confiscated her mobile phone and that of Hu's mother.
The arrest showed China was intensifying a crackdown on attempts to use the Olympics to promote human rights, Liu said, adding he himself had been under police surveillance for three months.
Rights lawyer Teng Biao said that Hu's detention was linked to the his rights work ahead of the Beijing Games.
"Before the Olympics the authorities will adopt stricter measures to deal with human rights activists," Teng said. "Without more concern from the international community, more people will be arrested."
Hu, 34, and his wife have spent many periods under house arrest over the last few years, but have used the Internet to spotlight rights abuses across China.
In earlier years they helped to expose a government-backed blood donation drive in central China, which led to an AIDS epidemic.AFP
"The police have arrested him and are accusing him of inciting subversion," rights defender and Hu's friend Liu Feiyue said here.
A group known as Chinese Human Rights Defenders said police forced their way into Hu's home in Beijing on Thursday, cut off his telephone and Internet connections and took him away.
"We believe that Hu Jia was criminally detained solely because of his peaceful activities in promoting human rights," the group said in a statement that called for his immediate and unconditional release.
Hu's wife Zeng Jinyan, also a well known dissident, remains under house arrest with her one-month-old baby daughter, the group said. Activists said police had confiscated her mobile phone and that of Hu's mother.
The arrest showed China was intensifying a crackdown on attempts to use the Olympics to promote human rights, Liu said, adding he himself had been under police surveillance for three months.
Rights lawyer Teng Biao said that Hu's detention was linked to the his rights work ahead of the Beijing Games.
"Before the Olympics the authorities will adopt stricter measures to deal with human rights activists," Teng said. "Without more concern from the international community, more people will be arrested."
Hu, 34, and his wife have spent many periods under house arrest over the last few years, but have used the Internet to spotlight rights abuses across China.
In earlier years they helped to expose a government-backed blood donation drive in central China, which led to an AIDS epidemic.AFP
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