The Secret Tibet (The Forbidden world)

The Tibet Post International {08 January  2008}

DPA[Monday, January 07, 2008 21:22] Beijing, January 7: Dozens of Chinese intellectuals and rights activists on Monday called for the release of a well-known dissident who was charged with subversion.

The names of 57 writers, lawyers and activists were printed under an open letter saying that Hu Jia was charged with subversion for activities that are protected by China's constitution.

Dissident writer Liu Xiaobo and democracy activist Chen Ziming were among the names attached to the letter, which was circulated by the group China Human Rights Defenders.

The letter urges the ruling Communist Party to improve China's human rights in the run-up to this year's Olympic games in Beijing.

It also calls on the government to allow access to Hu by his lawyers and family, and an end to the close surveillance and harassment of his wife and other relatives.

The signatories also asked the international community to put more pressure on China to improve its human rights record.

Hu, 34, was formally arrested on December 27 after spending most of the previous two years under house arrest or other forms of detention.

He is best known for his advocacy for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS in China, winning several international awards.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders also strongly condemned Hu's arrest, saying the government had 'taken advantage of the international community's focus on Pakistan to arrest one of the foremost representatives of the peaceful struggle for free expression in China.'

Reporters Without Borders urged the international community to intervene on Hu's behalf, 'so that he does not become another victim of China's pre-Olympics repression.'