Ai Weiwei Released After 'Confessing His Crimes'

No formal charges were brought against artists, detained April 3
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 22, 2011 12:05 PM CDT
Ai Weiwei Released on Bail in China After 'Confessing His Crimes'
Activist artiste Ai Weiwei, opens the gate to his home after returning from detention in Beijing, China, Wednesday, June 22, 2011.   (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

China has released Ai Weiwei on bail, its state-run media announced today, saying that the artist had shown a “good attitude in confessing his crimes" and agreed to repay the taxes he was accused of evading. Beijing police also said Ai’s “chronic disease” had played into the decision—he suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, the Telegraph notes.

Ai returned home to find a number of reporters outside his studio. He told them he was in fine health, thanked them for their support, and said that due to the terms of his release, he couldn’t say anything else, the AP reports. No formal charges were ever brought against Ai, a major government critic swept up on April 3 in a recent crackdown on dissent. Authorities accused his company, which handles the business aspects of his art career, of massive tax evasion. But his wife, who says the business is registered to her, denied that. For all our coverage of Ai's story, click here. (More Ai Weiwei stories.)

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