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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Chinese Dissident in Yahoo Case Is Freed After 10 Years | Chinese Dissident in Yahoo Case Is Freed After 10 Years |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| SHANGHAI — Wang Xiaoning, a Chinese political dissident who was convicted of state subversion based on evidence provided by the Internet company Yahoo, was released from prison on Friday, after serving a 10-year sentence. | SHANGHAI — Wang Xiaoning, a Chinese political dissident who was convicted of state subversion based on evidence provided by the Internet company Yahoo, was released from prison on Friday, after serving a 10-year sentence. |
| Mr. Wang’s wife, Yu Ling, said by telephone that her husband had returned to their Beijing home in the early morning. | Mr. Wang’s wife, Yu Ling, said by telephone that her husband had returned to their Beijing home in the early morning. |
| “He was very excited to come out and to be able to see us,” she said on Friday afternoon. “He didn’t sleep the entire night, until just now.” | “He was very excited to come out and to be able to see us,” she said on Friday afternoon. “He didn’t sleep the entire night, until just now.” |
| Yahoo was sharply criticized by American lawmakers and human rights activists after Mr. Wang and other activists were convicted and sentenced to long prison terms for distributing pro-democracy and other political material through e-mail and posts on Yahoo forums. | Yahoo was sharply criticized by American lawmakers and human rights activists after Mr. Wang and other activists were convicted and sentenced to long prison terms for distributing pro-democracy and other political material through e-mail and posts on Yahoo forums. |
| Critics blamed Yahoo for cooperating with the authorities and helping them gather evidence for the cases. | Critics blamed Yahoo for cooperating with the authorities and helping them gather evidence for the cases. |
| Yahoo later apologized for its role and settled a lawsuit brought by the families of several Chinese rights advocates. The company paid an undisclosed amount of compensation. | Yahoo later apologized for its role and settled a lawsuit brought by the families of several Chinese rights advocates. The company paid an undisclosed amount of compensation. |
| Mr. Wang, a 62-year-old former engineer, was detained on Sept. 1, 2002, and eventually sentenced for “inciting subversion of state power,” largely because he had used e-mail and Yahoo forums to distribute pro-democracy material, often anonymously. | |
| Around the same time, Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist, was convicted of providing state secrets to overseas entities based on evidence provided by Yahoo’s subsidiary in Hong Kong. He is still serving his 10-year sentence. | Around the same time, Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist, was convicted of providing state secrets to overseas entities based on evidence provided by Yahoo’s subsidiary in Hong Kong. He is still serving his 10-year sentence. |
| A spokesman for Yahoo could not be reached for comment on Friday. | A spokesman for Yahoo could not be reached for comment on Friday. |
| Mr. Wang’s wife, Ms. Yu, said that after her husband was released, the authorities informed him that he was not to speak to the news media, and that he could not take part in protests or demonstrations or make public speeches. | Mr. Wang’s wife, Ms. Yu, said that after her husband was released, the authorities informed him that he was not to speak to the news media, and that he could not take part in protests or demonstrations or make public speeches. |
| Joshua Rosenzweig, a human rights researcher in Hong Kong, said that Mr. Wang’s case demonstrated how the authorities in China perverted the justice system. | |
| “That Wang Xiaoning could be deprived of his freedom for a decade on charges of ‘inciting subversion,’ ” Mr. Rosenzweig wrote by e-mail, “is an unambiguous example of how Chinese authorities misuse laws designed to protect national security in an effort to protect its monopoly on power from being subjected to criticism. The Chinese society Wang re-enters enjoys more space for critical voices than it did a decade ago, but those who express themselves politically continue to risk crossing that invisible line that separates ‘acceptable’ criticism from ‘incitement.’ ” | “That Wang Xiaoning could be deprived of his freedom for a decade on charges of ‘inciting subversion,’ ” Mr. Rosenzweig wrote by e-mail, “is an unambiguous example of how Chinese authorities misuse laws designed to protect national security in an effort to protect its monopoly on power from being subjected to criticism. The Chinese society Wang re-enters enjoys more space for critical voices than it did a decade ago, but those who express themselves politically continue to risk crossing that invisible line that separates ‘acceptable’ criticism from ‘incitement.’ ” |