By: Priscila Néri, Posted: Aug 22 08

China

Arbitrary arrest, Detention, Freedom of opinion & expression

Activism, china, Freedom of Speech, Olympics, SFT, tibet

Brian Conley, founder of the videoblog Alive in Baghdad, who was arrested in Beijing last Tuesday while covering pro-Tibet demonstrations alongside five other Americans - Jeff Rae, Jeff Goldin, Michael Liss, Tom Grant and artist James Powderly - has been released and was scheduled to arrive back in the US this morning. Although the group had been originally sentenced to ten days of "administrative detention" for "upsetting social order", Brian's family believes the early release was largely due to political pressure, media attention, and the work of the US Embassy in China.

During the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, many other activists from organizations including Students for a Free Tibet and Free Tibet were either deported or detained for speaking up for Tibet's right to political freedom and on other human rights issues in China.  In this interview for the Hub conducted last Friday (before the news of the group's release), Eowyn Rieke, Brian's wife, talked about his detention and also urged the international community to strengthen its support for the people of Tibet amid predictions of a harsh post-Olympic crackdown on activists and citizens in Tibet and Xinjiang in particular.

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[Note: Brian has been working for the Hub in a freelance capacity on a project unrelated to his presence in China for Students for a Free Tibet]