China urged to treat jailed dissident's ailments

BEIJING (Reuters) - Two human rights groups on Wednesday called on China to ensure access to health care for jailed dissident Hu Jia, an advocate for AIDS sufferers.

China should release results of routine blood tests and provide appropriate care to manage his liver cirrhosis, which is related to his chronic hepatitis B, Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights said in a letter to Chinese president Hu Jintao.

Hu Jia was awarded the 2008 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament in October. He was sentenced to a three-and-a-half year prison term in April for subversion, and his wife and young daughter remain under house arrest.

"We are dissatisfied that the European Parliament insisted on giving Hu Jia the Sakharov prize despite much Chinese opposition, and we have already set forth our position," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters on Dec. 11.

"Giving the Sakharov prize to a criminal who has broken Chinese law and has been detained is in itself a blasphemy and makes a mockery of human rights."

A source close to Hu Jia who visited him in prison in September said he had been put in solitary confinement at least once, in August. A strict vegetarian, his diet causes him nutritional problems in jail, the source added.