Chinese activist Hu Jia's mild, bookish demeanour has masked a fearless dedication to human rights that earned him more than three years in jail -- and now an uncertain future as a free man.

Hu, 37, became one of China's best-known rights campaigners by highlighting government abuses, environmental degradation and the plight of China's AIDS sufferers until he was sentenced to prison in April 2008.

Jailed for "inciting subversion", a vague charge that critics say China uses to silence dissent, Hu returned to his home outside Beijing early Sunday after completing his term, his wife Zeng Jinyan said on Twitter.

Slightly built and with a boyish smile, the bespectacled Hu struck fear into the hearts of China's rulers by disseminating information on a wide range of rights abuses in China.

His arrest in December 2007 came amid a broad crackdown on government critics to avert protests during the August 2008 Beijing Olympics.

But he emerges to an even more restrictive climate today with the government in the midst of a broad crackdown launched in February and aimed at preventing any Chinese version of the "Arab Spring" uprisings of the Middle East.

According to Zeng, after his release he returned to the couple's home outside Beijing where they have spent lengthy periods under house arrest in the past and which is ironically named the "Bobo Freedom Village" apartments.

AFP journalists were prevented access to the area on Sunday and Zeng has said he would likely not be allowed to speak to the media.

That echoes the treatment of several high-profile recent detainees including the artist and outspoken government critic Ai Weiwei, who was released from police custody last week after nearly three months in police custody.

"China has been a dictatorship throughout its entire history," Hu told AFP in an interview in late 2007 in which he said China today had its best chance in history to achieve democracy.

But he suffers from cirrhosis of the liver, and Zeng, also an activist, has signalled that his health, government restrictions, and the need to reconnect as a family would likely curb his return to activism any time soon.

Zeng has said in previous entries on her blog that his health condition has worsened, he had thinned noticeably in past prison visits, and has accused prison authorities of providing inadequate care.

An IT graduate from the Beijing School of Economics, Hu rose to prominence about a decade ago when he organised help for poor villagers who contracted AIDS by selling their blood in the 1990s, and has criticised government attempts to sweep China's AIDS problem under the rug.

Later, he began organising campaigns to release political prisoners, and kept the Western press informed about the struggles of human rights lawyers, peasant protesters and labour activists who faced official mistreatment.

Hu was taken into custody in December 2007, about a month after he spoke via webcam to the EU parliament about China's human rights situation and criticised China's hosting of the Olympics.

He was awarded the EU parliament's Sakharov Prize in October 2008, prompting Beijing to issue an angry rebuke to the European Union.

Throughout his battles with authorities and his prison term, Zeng had maintained a defiant blog, one of the reasons that Time magazine listed her among its top 100 world heroes and pioneers in 2007.

She has said Hu continued to rail against prison conditions and talk to other prisoners about their rights after his jailing.

However, Zeng has complained of increasing police harassment and has been much less vocal over the past year about Hu's condition.

earlier related report
China releases human rights activist Hu Jia
Beijing (AFP) June 26, 2011 - One of China's most prominent prisoners of conscience, Hu Jia, returned home Sunday after completing a jail term for subversion but looked likely to be muzzled along with other top dissidents.

The human rights activist's release after more than three years in prison comes after outspoken artist Ai Weiwei emerged in Beijing last week from nearly three months in police custody amid a government crackdown on dissent.

Hu is widely expected to be hit with the same strict curbs as those applied to Ai and a range of other activists and rights lawyers who have apparently been ordered to keep quiet to gain their freedom.

Hu returned to his home outside Beijing early Sunday morning, his wife and fellow activist Zeng Jinyan said on Twitter.

"On a sleepless night, Hu Jia arrived home at 2:30 am. Peaceful, very happy. Need to rest for awhile. Thanks to you all," she said.

Hu, 37, was jailed on subversion charges in April 2008 just ahead of the Beijing Olympics after angering the ruling Communist Party through his years of bold campaigning for civil rights, the environment, and AIDS sufferers.

Ai's detention had sparked an international outcry and his recent release has been widely seen as an attempt by China to defuse criticism during a visit by Premier Wen Jiabao to Europe now under way.

Hu's release at the end of his prison term, however, was long expected.

Aside from his jail sentence, Hu also faces one year of "deprivation of political rights" -- essentially a ban on political activities, and Zeng has indicated he would be making no public statements.

"During this time, he must treat his cirrhosis and take care of his family," she said on Twitter last week.

Hu suffers from cirrhosis of the liver and Zeng has said the ailment has worsened during his time in jail, blaming the prison for providing inadequate medical care.

Hu and Zeng have a young daughter.

It was not immediately clear exactly what sort of restrictions Hu may face.

Attempts to reach Zeng by telephone at the couple's home were unsuccessful and Chinese security personnel prevented AFP journalists from reaching their apartment on Sunday.

Hu began his activism by highlighting discrimination against Chinese HIV/AIDS sufferers and environmental degradation but later spoke out on behalf of a wide range of victims of government abuses.

As a result, he and Zeng have suffered repeated detention or lengthy periods of house arrest that they have criticised as unlawful.

They made a short documentary, available on the Internet, detailing one of these detentions from 2006-2007 called "Prisoners of Freedom City".

Regularly tipped as a potential candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, Hu has won overseas human rights awards from bodies such as the European Parliament.

"China has been a dictatorship throughout its entire history," Hu told AFP in a 2007 interview.

"Now... I believe that we have a chance to bring democracy to this country for the first time in 5,000 years."

He was taken into custody in December 2007 amid a previous crackdown on government critics ahead of the Beijing Olympics and convicted on subversion charges.

Rights groups have accused China's ruling Communist Party of abusing such charges as a way of silencing government critics.

Zeng said police told her Hu was not likely to enjoy a "normal" life after his release, remarks she interpreted to mean confinement to his home like some other recently released dissidents.

New York-based activist group Human Rights Watch on Friday urged the Chinese government not to subject Hu and his family to "house arrest or other extrajudicial deprivations of liberty".

The government launched a major crackdown on dissent in February in an apparent bid to squelch any possible Chinese version of the "Arab Spring" uprisings in the Middle East.

Normally outspoken detainees such as Ai have uncharacteristically refused public comment after their release.

Activists say this indicates a systematic new government strategy to silence dissenters, possibly through threats against them or their families.

The rights group Chinese Human Rights Defenders has said 49 people have been detained on suspicion of criminal acts in the ongoing crackdown, most of whom have either been formally arrested, sent to re-education camps, or released on bail awaiting trial.

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