A Chinese official sentenced without trial to hard labour for opposing the Maoist revival policies of disgraced politician Bo Xilai has been freed and is seeking compensation, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Ren Jianyu, 25, was released from a re-education through labour camp in Chongqing, the southwestern city Bo used to head, after serving 15 months for attacking his “sing red” campaign, lawyer Pu Zhiqiang said.
Bo is at the centre of the biggest political scandal in China in years, which saw his wife given a suspended death sentence in August for murdering British businessman Neil Heywood.
Bo was kicked out of the ruling Communist Party late last month and is in custody awaiting trial for corruption and abuse of power.
Before the scandal erupted, he had been tipped for promotion to the top ranks of the party at its once-a-decade leadership transition that saw President Hu Jintao hand the top party post to Vice-President Xi Jinping last week.
“Ren Jianyu was released from the labour camp on Monday,” Pu said. “The authorities did not give a reason why they released him, but we believe he was unjustly jailed.”