Chinese Human Rights Activist Jailed for Government Criticism

Even under house arrest, Hu Jia continued his fearless campaign against China's abuse of human rights. Yesterday he was finally jailed – but he is likely to become the poster-boy for critics of the Olympics


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As far as Hu Jia was concerned, the door to his apartment was always open to fellow Chinese who shared his desire for greater freedom, foreign friends, or activists with issues to discuss.

But it was always a question of when, not if, the Communist Party would lock up Mr Hu, China's most famous dissident, who has been under house arrest for many months, guarded by state security officers.

Yesterday Mr Hu, 34, was transformed into one of the world's most famous human rights defenders as China moved to stifle dissent before the Olympic Games in Beijing. He was jailed by a Beijing court for three and a half years for "inciting to subvert state power" through a series of articles about freedom and for his constant dialogue with foreign journalists.

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