Zhao Lianhai, the parent of a child contaminated from tainted milk powder, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in prison in 2010 for his activism in support of other parents affected by the milk scandal. He was released early on medical parole, and this week has issued a video calling for the release of political prisoners, including Ai Weiwei. China Media Project has translated the full transcript of the video:
Zhao was detained for questioning soon after the video was released online. From the Standard:
He was taken away by security officials on Wednesday soon after he appeared with his son in a 20-minute video in which he called for the release of mainland dissidents, including the recently arrested artist Ai Weiwei.
Zhao was “detained” for about eight hours before being released.
[…] Soon after arriving home around midnight yesterday, Zhao published a series of twitter messages, including an assurance by an official that he was free to talk.
“The official said I will not be arrested, no matter what I said,” Zhao said. “Yet, I wonder if I should trust them. I hope they can consider the breadth and depth of our feelings and refrain from treating everyone this way.”
