China releases dissident artist Ai Weiwei
source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/23/3251040.htm
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After more than two and a half months of being detained, the world-famous artist and political activist Ai Weiwei has finally been released, according to Chinese state media.
The Chinese police said they released Ai on bail after he confessed to tax evasion and also because he suffers from a chronic disease.
Ai was the most high-profile dissident arrested during a widespread crackdown on rights lawyers, bloggers and activists in China this spring, drawing international attention and condemnation.
China's state Xinhua news agency reported that Ai was willing to repay the taxes he reportedly owed.
Ai's relatives said they did not know where the artist was being held after he was taken into custody at Beijing's airport.
"He has not come back yet. The police haven't told us he has been released. Journalists called us and told us about the Xinhua report," Ai's sister Gao Ge told AFP late on Wednesday. Ai's mobile is still switched off and his wife and lawyer could not be immediately reached by the news agency.
The burly, bearded avant-garde artist has angered authorities with his involvement in a number of sensitive activist campaigns and his criticism of the ruling Communist Party.
Britain, the United States, Australia, France and Germany joined Amnesty International and other rights groups in calling for the release of Ai, born in 1957, whose work was shown in London's Tate Modern gallery earlier this year.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/23/3251040.htm
The Chinese police said they released Ai on bail after he confessed to tax evasion and also because he suffers from a chronic disease.
Ai was the most high-profile dissident arrested during a widespread crackdown on rights lawyers, bloggers and activists in China this spring, drawing international attention and condemnation.
China's state Xinhua news agency reported that Ai was willing to repay the taxes he reportedly owed.
Ai's relatives said they did not know where the artist was being held after he was taken into custody at Beijing's airport.
"He has not come back yet. The police haven't told us he has been released. Journalists called us and told us about the Xinhua report," Ai's sister Gao Ge told AFP late on Wednesday. Ai's mobile is still switched off and his wife and lawyer could not be immediately reached by the news agency.
The burly, bearded avant-garde artist has angered authorities with his involvement in a number of sensitive activist campaigns and his criticism of the ruling Communist Party.
Britain, the United States, Australia, France and Germany joined Amnesty International and other rights groups in calling for the release of Ai, born in 1957, whose work was shown in London's Tate Modern gallery earlier this year.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/23/3251040.htm
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