Long-term political prisoner and democracy activist Hu Shigen was released after serving sixteen years of a twenty-year sentence. The United States welcomes his release. Executive director of Human Rights in China Sharon Hom said, "It is tragic that Hu had to suffer so many years of abuse, serious health problems, and harsh conditions."

Hu was detained in May 1992 but wasn't sentenced until December 1994 for allegedly "carrying out counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement" and "organizing a counterrevolutionary group." These two crimes were eliminated from the law in 1997, but Hu remained in prison for another eleven years.


Full story - VOA News (http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/2008-08-29-voa2.cfm)