International

China releases jailed columnist

Published

8 years ago

March 27, 2016

The release of a missing prominent Chinese columnist who was apparently jailed earlier this month by Chinese authorities has been confirmed by his lawyer.

Jia Jia who writes a regular column for Tencent Online was arrested in connection with an online letter supposedly critical to Chinese President Xi Jingping.

He went missing late on March 15, around the time he was scheduled to board a flight from Beijing to Hong Kong.

His lawyer, Yan Xin, told Reuters earlier police had detained Jia at a Beijing airport.

Jia’s lawyer said on Sunday it was “not convenient” to elaborate on the precise reasons for Jia’s detention. He declined to confirm if it was related to the letter.

“He has been released and has already returned home,” Yan said. Yan said Jia was not available for comment.

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