He was freed just hours after Associated Press began asking questions about his case.

“We remain alarmed by human rights violations and abuses in China and call on [Chinese] authorities to respect the fundamental freedoms to which their citizens are entitled consistent with China’s international obligations and commitments,” the US State Department said.

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Chinese diplomats in the Emirates did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Chinese foreign ministry also has not responded to requests about Wang.

Wang posted a video from an Emirates flight, showing his ticket back to Istanbul.

“The police here are very bad. They covered my head,” Wang said. “Today, they suddenly brought me on the plane. They didn’t even give me back my clothes or shoes, and they gave me these flip-flops to wear. They didn’t give me anything, just a passport and a phone. They’re really too awful. Too awful.”

Wang came to authorities’ attention last year after brutal hand-to-hand combat between Chinese and Indian forces in a valley in the Karakoram mountains, a region disputed following a 1962 war between the two countries. In June, soldiers armed with clubs, stones and fists battled each other for hours in violence that killed 20 Indian soldiers.

Months later, in February, China acknowledged the fighting killed four of its own soldiers. Wang then publicly questioned on social media why the Chinese government waited six months to release the information, sparking a harassment campaign that saw him flee to Istanbul, activists say.

China charges blogger who questioned official death toll in India border clash

Police in Wang’s hometown of Chongqing have reportedly cited him for violating a 2018 law against demeaning heroes and martyrs and called his parents in for questioning. While en route from Istanbul to New York, activists say authorities arrested him on April 6 at Dubai International Airport, holding him first at an immigration jail and later at a police station.

“While in custody, Wang has been questioned by Dubai police for endangering national security, and has, according to his statements, been visited by both Chinese embassy (Abu Dhabi) and consulate (Dubai) staff repeatedly,” the rights group Safeguard Defenders said in a letter to the UAE’s ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, on Wednesday.

They “pressured him to sign a document allowing him to be deported back to China, where he is wanted for what can only be described as freedom-of-speech crimes”, the letter added.

A Dubai Public Prosecution charge sheet describes Wang as facing an investigation over allegedly “insulting one of the monotheistic religions”, a charge typically referring to insulting Islam. However, the government’s Dubai media office initially said Wang instead had been arrested for “non-payment of hotel bills” and denied he faced any charge for insulting Islam.

Shown the charge sheet, the Dubai media office then said Wang faced the insult charge later, but “hotel payments were settled and charges were dropped and he was let free”.

“Chinese authorities have not inquired about Mr Wang, nor did they request his deportation to China, nor has there been any contract between UAE and Chinese authorities with regards to Mr Wang,” the Dubai media office said.

The State Department said it had been “actively seeking information” on Wang’s case as he could be deported to China.

“We actively discourage foreign governments from embracing the tactic of menacing journalists and dissidents overseas and will continue to make clear to partners and adversaries alike that this increasingly prevalent practice must end,” the State Department said. “Freedom of expression should never be criminalised.”