Hu Jia: "Prison freed me from hatred. The government, however, is its slave "
After three and a half years in prison for "inciting subversion of state sovereignty", the prominent dissident said: "Before I hated my persecutors. Not now, because I am a free man while they were slaves. " He also tells of his imprisonment: "Bound and gagged, it was terrible."
Beijing (AsiaNews) - After three and a half years in prison, Hu Jia is a "free man. The guards who persecuted me, are not. I no longer hate them or the government, prison has helped me to understand how things are and I feel only pity for them. I can exercise freedom of thought and I can choose not to do bad things: they are forced to do them". Convicted of "inciting subversion against the sovereignty of the state", the prominent dissident Hu Jia speaks to the South China Morning Post, recounting how the prison transformed him into a better person.
The dissident, 37 and a Buddhist, is known throughout the country for his battles against the spread of AIDS and against forced evictions. Among his "crimes" were those of giving interviews to foreign media, links with activists and dissidents; defence of human rights and religious freedom. Hu Jia, who suffers from hepatitis B, was released on June 26: Since then, a convoy of police cars and officers follow him everywhere.
Before his arrest, he says, "I used to have heated arguments with the police. Sometimes I even became violent. Today I would not say those things: my hatred of the past has become piety. These people force us to live in hell, but do you think they live in Paradise? I am now a free person, they are not. At least I can think freely, and I can decide not to do bad things. They, can not”.
Hu also told of his captivity: Most of the time, he was treated with respect by the police and prison guards. But there were also terrible moments: after arguing with a guard, he was placed in isolation for 9 days, with handcuffs and blindfolded. "I thought such things happen only in the movies, but it's happened to me dozens of times. I was even brought handcuffed to the hospital: people look at you and think you are a murderer. "
Like many other dissidents, including Wei Jingsheng, Hu also attacks the Chinese judiciary and penal system: "I told my guards 'inciting subversion' can not be a crime, because it is an accusation against the freedom of speech of the population. I explained to them that the law needs to be abolished; it is a sword of Damocles over the heads of all of us. They thought I exaggerated, but the demand for freedom of speech in China is rapidly increasing. I know I am not alone. "
The dissident, 37 and a Buddhist, is known throughout the country for his battles against the spread of AIDS and against forced evictions. Among his "crimes" were those of giving interviews to foreign media, links with activists and dissidents; defence of human rights and religious freedom. Hu Jia, who suffers from hepatitis B, was released on June 26: Since then, a convoy of police cars and officers follow him everywhere.
Before his arrest, he says, "I used to have heated arguments with the police. Sometimes I even became violent. Today I would not say those things: my hatred of the past has become piety. These people force us to live in hell, but do you think they live in Paradise? I am now a free person, they are not. At least I can think freely, and I can decide not to do bad things. They, can not”.
Hu also told of his captivity: Most of the time, he was treated with respect by the police and prison guards. But there were also terrible moments: after arguing with a guard, he was placed in isolation for 9 days, with handcuffs and blindfolded. "I thought such things happen only in the movies, but it's happened to me dozens of times. I was even brought handcuffed to the hospital: people look at you and think you are a murderer. "
Like many other dissidents, including Wei Jingsheng, Hu also attacks the Chinese judiciary and penal system: "I told my guards 'inciting subversion' can not be a crime, because it is an accusation against the freedom of speech of the population. I explained to them that the law needs to be abolished; it is a sword of Damocles over the heads of all of us. They thought I exaggerated, but the demand for freedom of speech in China is rapidly increasing. I know I am not alone. "
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