Hu Jia

Who is Hu Jia?

Hu Jia is an activist and dissident in the People's Republic of China. His work has focused on the Chinese democracy movement, Chinese environmentalist movement, and HIV/AIDS in the People's Republic of China. Hu is the director of June Fourth Heritage & Culture Association, and he has been involved with AIDS advocacy as the executive director of the Beijing Aizhixing Institute of Health Education and as one of the founders of the non-governmental organization Loving Source. He has also been involved in work to protect the endangered Tibetan antelope. For his activism, Hu has received awards from several European bodies, such as the Paris City Council and the European Parliament, which awarded its Human Rights prize to him in December 2008.

On December 27, 2007, Hu was detained as part of a crackdown on dissents during the Christmas holiday season. Reporters Without Borders said that “The political police have taken advantage of the international community’s focus on Pakistan to arrest one of the foremost representatives of the peaceful struggle for free expression in China.” The decision to take him into custody was made after peasant leaders in several Chinese provinces issued a manifesto demanding broader land rights for peasants whose property had been confiscated for development. On April 3, 2008, he was sentenced to 3.5 years in jail. Hu pleaded not guilty on charges of "inciting subversion of state power" at his trial in March 2008. His trial and detention garnered international attention, and Hu was described as a political prisoner, and was designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. He was released at 2:30 am on Sunday, June 26th, 2011.