Lawyer Teng Biao, who was whisked away in an unmarked car on Thursday evening, has been released. From Reuters:
On Saturday afternoon, Beijing police released Teng after two days in detention that had already attracted intense attention from local and foreign rights advocates.
“I was taken in by Beijing Public Security at 8:40 on Thursday and then I was taken home by them at 1:40 this afternoon,” Teng told Reuters on his wife’s mobile telephone. “That’s all I can say now. It wouldn’t be convenient to say more.”
Teng’s own mobile telephone was also turned back on after two days’ silence and he said he was in “good enough” health. Calls to a Chinese Ministry of Public Security spokesman about the case were not answered.
The following photo is from activist Wang Tiancheng (王天成), currently visiting scholar of Columbia University, via Boxun.com. The photo was taken on December 30, 2007, when Wang and Teng Biao visiting home of a Tiananmen Mother Ding Zilin and her husband Jiang Peikun. The characters in the photo reads: “Living in Truth.”
Meanwhile, police have indicated to activist Hu Jia‘s family that he will be put on trial soon. See also an AFP report and Chinese Lawyer Says He Was Detained and Warned on Activism, by Jim Yardley in The New York Times:
In the essay by Mr. Teng and Mr. Hu last year, the two wrote bluntly about China’s current situation.
“Is China improving its human rights record?” they asked, according to a translation provided by Human Rights Watch, an advocacy group. “When you come to the Olympic Games in Beijing, you will see skyscrapers, spacious streets, modern stadiums and enthusiastic people. Please be aware that the Olympic Games will be held in a country where there are no elections, no freedom of religion, no independent courts, no independent trade unions; where demonstrations and strikes are prohibited.”
