Ai's wife, Lu Qing, was permitted to visit him briefly on Sunday but the two were not allowed to discuss his case or whether the state was ready to press formal charges against the outspoken artist, his sister Gao Ge said.

The meeting is believed to be the first known face-to-face contact between Ai, one of China's most prominent artists, and his family since he was detained by police on April 3 amid the ruling Communist Party's biggest crackdown on dissidents and activists in years.

Gao suggested the timing of the meeting might have been intended to dispel any fears that Ai was being beaten, tortured or otherwise mistreated. The burly artist suffers from diabetes.

"He has not been mistreated," Gao told AFP by phone, adding that he was receiving his medications.

Ai is an outspoken critic of China's government and his detention has been loudly condemned internationally, with the United States and European Union calling for his release.

So far, the Chinese government has said only that Ai is under investigation for economic crimes, but police have failed to issue a formal arrest warrant.

"Of course we would like to see him freed," Gao said. "But this is something that is not in our power, our main goal is that they immediately establish and register a case against him."

Chinese authorities, apparently spooked by the wave of pro-democracy uprisings sweeping the Middle East, have detained dozens of lawyers, artists and other perceived critics in recent weeks.

Many of the detainees have reported being beaten while in custody.

Liu Xiaoyuan, a rights lawyer and close friend of Ai who said he met with Lu on Monday, told AFP it was unclear where the meeting between the artist and his wife took place but that it was not at a police detention centre.

He said in a later Twitter posting that Ai appeared to be under "residential surveillance" away from his home.

Human rights groups have criticised "residential surveillance", in which authorities detain people for extended periods without charge, as a violation of Chinese law.

Citing an account from Ai's wife, Liu told AFP that during the Sunday meeting the artist appeared mostly concerned about the health of his elderly mother.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News