Chinese Police Officials Detain Beijing Artist and Rights Advocate Ai Weiwei

April 12, 2011

In early April 2011, Chinese authorities detained prominent Beijing-based artist and rights advocate Ai Weiwei as he tried to board a plane to Hong Kong. Based on available reporting, Chinese authorities have not released details on his detention. Ai's detention comes amid a broader crackdown on hundreds of activists, bloggers, and writers in February and March 2011, in a campaign which appears related to official sensitivity over recent protests in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as an anonymous online call for "Jasmine Revolution" protests within China.

Chinese Public Security Officials Detain Artist Ai Weiwei in Early April 2011

According to an April 3, 2011, New York Times (NYT) article, Chinese public security officials detained prominent Beijing-based artist and rights advocate Ai Weiwei on April 3, 2011, as he tried to board a plane to Hong Kong at Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing municipality. NYT reported that Chinese public security officials also detained and later released Ai's wife, nephew, and several employees when authorities raided his art studio in Chaoyang district, Beijing. According to an April 4, 2011, NYT article, public security officials reportedly searched Ai's studio and confiscated property, including laptop computers, hard drives, DVDs, and cameras. Information on the current whereabouts of Ai and his friend Wen Tao, who was reportedly detained the same day, remain unclear, according to an April 6, 2011, Guardian article. On April 7, 2011, Xinhua, the Chinese central government's news agency, reported that police officials were investigating Ai for suspected "economic crimes." The Xinhua article (cached copy available via Google here), however, was removed from the Internet shortly after it was posted. Ai's detention comes amid a broader crackdown on scores of activists, bloggers, and writers in February and March 2011, in a campaign which appears related to official sensitivity over recent protests in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as an anonymous online call (in Chinese) for "Jasmine Revolution" protests within China.

Ai Weiwei: Previous Harassment, Abuse, and Detention

Ai Weiwei is internationally known for his artwork and his role among those who designed the "Bird's Nest" stadium for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games. As a rights activist and a vocal critic of Chinese government policies, Ai Weiwei has faced harassment, surveillance, and extralegal detention by Chinese authorities. In August 2009, Chengdu public security officials beat Ai and detained him in a hotel room in Chengdu city, Sichuan province, throughout the trial of writer Tan Zuoren. Ai reportedly had traveled to Chengdu to testify at the trial; however, the court repeatedly rejected Tan's lawyers' requests to call witnesses on behalf of their client. According to a November 5, 2010, NYT article, Beijing public security officials placed Ai under "soft detention" (ruanjin), a form of unlawful home confinement, in November 2010, after authorities demolished Ai's Shanghai art studio. Shanghai officials reportedly authorized the extralegal detention after Ai called on his supporters to attend a large-scale event in response to the demolition.

For more information on the arbitrary detention and harassment of human rights defenders in China, see Section III―Access to Justice in the CECC 2010 Annual Report. For information on free speech advocacy by human rights defenders in China, see Section II―Freedom of Expression.