Jailed Chinese human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong back home after going missing on release day
- Wife Jin Bianling, who lives in the US, says her husband is now with his parents in central China but is being kept under close watch by authorities
- Jiang defended dissidents and practitioners of banned spiritual movement Falun Gong and was imprisoned for inciting subversion of the state
A prominent Chinese human rights lawyer returned to his parents’ home on Saturday, three days after he went missing on the day he was due to be released from jail, according to his wife.
But she said Jiang Tianyong was still being closely monitored by authorities and had yet to regain his freedom.
Jiang, 47, who defended high-profile dissidents and practitioners of the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong, was sentenced to two years’ jail for inciting subversion of the state in a trial widely condemned by human rights watchdogs.
He was supposed to be released on Thursday. But when supporters went to collect him from a prison in central Henan province, they were told by police that he had already left.
Meanwhile, Jiang’s wife, Jin Bianling, said she had also been unable to contact his father and sister by phone since Wednesday night. The pair were picked up by security agents on Wednesday afternoon to be taken to meet Jiang in prison.