China police free dissident, to continue questioning

BEIJING, Sep 7 (Reuters) Chinese police sent home prominent dissident Hu Jia today night after a day's detention but said they would continue questioning him the next day, his family said.

It was the latest event in what appears to be a crackdown by Chinese authorities on rights activists.

Hu was taken away by plain-clothes police early in the morning, his wife, Zeng Jinyan, told Reuters. ''They wanted to enter the home, but I refused to let them in,'' she said.

She said police produced no identification or warrant for his detention, and said he was being taken to a local police station.

Hu was returned home by police at about 8.00 in the evening, but an officer said they would come to get him at 9 am tomorrow morning to continue interrogating him about ''suspected offences,'' Zeng said.

''They told him he was a criminal suspect and should abide by criminal procedure and do as he's told,'' she said. Hu was too tired to speak, she added.

Hu, 33, has embraced a number of controversial causes. He first came to prominence over his advocacy for AIDS sufferers in rural China.

A slight, bespectacled Buddhist, Hu has also supported dialogue with exiled Tibetans and most recently protested against the treatment of other rights activists, including Gao Zhisheng, a combative lawyer who was detained in August, and Chen Guangcheng, a blind rural campaigner sentenced to over four years in jail.

Many of the police questions today concerned Hu's dealings with Gao, said Zeng. Hu has helped to organise internet calls for Gao's release.

Before his detention, Hu told Reuters by phone that dozens of police had gathered below his apartment in far eastern Beijing.

''It looks like they're getting serious about taking me away,'' said Hu, who has been under house arrest since July. Earlier this year, Hu was held in secret detention for 41 days.

Other Chinese rights activists have recently been placed under house arrest, moved to distant cities, or have gone into hiding.

REUTERS SP MIR RAI2031