Hu Jia, a Chinese dissident who was also an activist involved in environmental affairs and AIDS sufferers, was recently released after spending three and a half years in prison. In December 2007, Hu was arrested and then convicted just five months later for "incitement to subvert state power," a term frequently used in trials against critics of China's authoritarian Communist government. Hu was originally an environmental campaigner, eventually taking on campaigns against HIV and AIDS in China before his increasing knowledge led him to become critical of the government. With the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics drawing the spotlight onto the country, including the Communist government's human rights record, authorities began to arrest outspoken critics (Richburg). .
"Sleepless night. Hu Jia arrived home at 2:30 in the morning. Safe, very happy. Needs to rest for awhile. Thanks, everyone," Zeng Jinyan, Hu Jia's wife, posted on Twitter (Richburg). .
Many dissidents banned together and released a manifesto titled Charter 08. In it they called for democratic reforms. The main author, Liu Xiaobo, was arrested after the manifesto was released, but he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last October while still in jail. The European Parliament awarded Hu the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, Europe's highest honor for human rights work (Wines). .
Other activists were recently released. Ai Weiwei returned home after being held on tax evasion charges, although Ai's family and lawyers maintain those charges were just a pretext for Ai's anti-government views. Chen Guangcheng was recently released after spending four years in prison for exposing forced abortions and forced sterilizations under the government's family planning program, but he is now being kept on house arrest. All three activists are prohibited from speaking to the media and denied of their political rights for one year, which includes voting in local elections (Richburg).