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Beijing: One of China's longest-held political prisoners was released after serving 16 years of a 20-year jail sentence for setting up a political party in defiance of a ban by ruling Communist authorities.
Hu Shigen, 53, a former lecturer at the Beijing Languages Institute, was greeted by family members when he emerged from a Beijing prison.
"He was released today. There are no immediate plans. He needs time to adapt," Hu's brother said by telephone.
"He's in relatively good spirits. There will be a get-together with seven family members tonight," he said.
Hu's sentence was reduced in 2005 and again this year.
Rights deprived
His family had travelled to the capital from their hometown in Jiangxi province in southern China for his release.
Plainclothes police prevented fellow dissidents from leaving their Beijing homes to greet Hu, activist Zhao Xin said by telephone.
The veteran dissident, an alumni of the elite Peking University, could not be interviewed by reporters because he is still deprived of his political rights for four more years.
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