Disabled rights activist Ni Yulan freed from jail and vows to seek redress

A disabled Chinese rights lawyer whose imprisonment stirred international concern said she had been released after serving her two and a half year sentence and pledged to sue the police as well as pursue redress for her case.

Ni Yulan, who is renowned for defending people evicted from their homes, was sentenced to two years and eight month in prison in April 2012 for causing a disturbance and fraud.

Activists contend the charges were trumped up in an effort to silence her. In July 2012, a Chinese court threw out the fraud charge, reducing her prison time by two months.

Authorities forced Ni, who is wheelchair-bound, and her husband, Dong Jiqin, to stay at a hotel in 2010 after their home was demolished in 2008. Ni had previously called it a "black jail" -- an informal detention site such as a hotel or government guesthouse used to hold protesters and petitioners without resorting to legal procedures.

During her trial, prosecutors alleged that Ni had "willfully occupied" the room that she was staying in.

Ni said she now plans to sue the Beijing public security bureau in the Xicheng district for holding her and her husband in the hotel and cutting off the water and electricity.