CHINA:In a daring move, dozens of leading Chinese academics, writers and activists have signed a petition calling for the release of human rights defender Hu Jia, who was arrested last month and charged with subversion.
The petitioners risk threats to their own safety by signing the plea using their real names, which was one of the conditions under which the document was signed. In the petition they said Mr Hu was acting within his constitutional rights when protesting against human rights violations.
Late last month Mr Hu, an Aids campaigner and one of the most prominent faces of dissent in China, was arrested in Beijing in what human rights groups fear may be the start of a crackdown on human rights activists ahead of the Olympics in August.
Police came and took him away in front of his wife, Zeng Pinyan, who is also a blogger and activist, and their six-week-old daughter, Hu Qianci.
The petitioners called on the government to honour its promise to promote human rights when it bid to host the 2008 Olympics and to release Mr Hu immediately. While he remains in custody, he should be given access to a lawyer and the right to see his family, the letter said.
"The best way to seize the critical juncture of the Olympics to promote political advancement and improvement of human rights is for the Chinese government to cherish the tradition of ideological liberation under reform and opening, stand by its promises and implement these promises in practice, be true to the basic tenets of the PRC constitution in regard to human rights and rule of law, and with sincerity and courage implement the International Covenant on Human Rights . . . to demonstrate a posture of political enlightenment to the people of China and the world," the letter said.
There are also concerns about Mr Hu's health. He suffers from cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis and needs regular medication. The petitioners called for his family to be freed from house arrest.