Driver Zhang Jinsong among several associates who disappeared with freed Chinese artist
Police are to release Ai Weiwei's cousin and driver, who went missing days after the world famous artist, according to relatives.
Ai was released on bail on Wednesday night after 81 days of detention "because of his good attitude in confessing his crimes" and a chronic illness, Xinhua news agency reported.
The 54-year-old told the Guardian he was happy to be back with his family, but was unable to comment further. He appeared tired and considerably thinner than before his disappearance.
Friends and supporters have remained concerned for the fate of several associates who disappeared shortly after Ai was stopped by officials at Beijing airport on 3 April. Gao Ying, Ai's mother, said she had been told her nephew Zhang Jinsong would be released on bail on Thursday afternoon. She added that she would collect him shortly.
"Of course I am very happy, since he got into the case because of my son. After two months, finally he is out," Gao added.
The 43-year-old, known to friends as Xiao Pang, travelled and worked closely with Ai. The Xinhua report on Ai's release said: "The decision comes also in consideration of the fact that Ai has repeatedly said he is willing to pay the taxes he evaded, police said.
The Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd, a company Ai controlled, was found to have "evaded a huge amount of taxes and intentionally destroyed accounting documents", police said.
Chinese officials have said that the case was nothing to do with human rights. But Ai's family believe the accusations were retaliation for his social and political activism and that his friends and colleagues – who, apart from Wen Tao, showed little interest in campaigning – were drawn in because of their connections to Ai.
Shi Jing, Wen's girlfriend, said his family were still none the wiser about where the 38-year-old was or what would happen to him.
Hu Mingfen, 55, the accountant for Fake Design – the company which handled Ai's affairs – remains missing. So does Liu Zhenggang, 49, a designer who worked at the studio.
Ai did not respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday night he told the Guardian that he was fine and "very happy" to be home, but added that he could not say much because he was on bail.
Professor Jerome Cohen, a leading expert on Chinese criminal law, said in a blog that security authorities sometimes released suspects pending further investigation "as a face-saving device to end controversial cases that are unwise or unnecessary for them to prosecute".
"Often in such cases a compromise has been reached in negotiation with the suspect, as apparently it has been here.... As part of the agreement and as a consequence of long incommunicado detention, the released suspect is usually subdued in any public remarks made upon release," he said.
He added: "This outcome makes clear that great international public pressure plus significant domestic and personal guanxi [connections] can be a potent combination even in the case of someone who went further than anyone before him in openly thumbing his nose (and other body parts) at the Communist regime. Undoubtedly, Ai's star talent, his family history and global support from the artistic community helped a lot."
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/23/ai-weiwei-cousin-release-expected
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