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Artist and activist detained by authorities for 81 days for alleged tax evasion has spoken little of his ordeal Police interrogated Chinese artist Ai Weiwei more than 50 times during his detention and threatened him with up to 10 years in jail for inciting subversion, Reuters news agency has reported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the events. Authorities released Ai in June, amid international outcry over his 81-day detention. State media said he was held for economic crimes and released “because of his good attitude in confessing” and a chronic illness, adding that he had agreed to pay back taxes he had evaded. But according to Reuters, the source – who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution – said questioning focused on the proposed “Jasmine Revolution” protests in China in February and writings that could constitute subversion. Police officers discussed the contents of Ai’s blog and Twitter account “line by line”. His family has always maintained his detention was retaliation for his social and political activism. It came amid a sweeping crackdown on dissidents, activists and lawyers, apparently triggered by the anonymous call on an overseas website for “Jasmine” protests inspired by the Arab spring. The source said interrogators asked Ai whether he knew who the organisers of the “Jasmine” protests were, but the artist denied all knowledge. The call drew little response in China. According to the account given to Reuters, plainclothes officers who halted Ai at Beijing airport on 3 April hooded him before putting him in a car and driving him to a secret location where he was held for a fortnight. The 54-year-old was later moved to another location where two officers watched him round the clock, their faces often inches from his, even monitoring him as he slept and insisting he put his hands on top of the blanket. He was not allowed to speak and had to request permission to drink water and use the toilet. “It was immense psychological pressure,” the source said. When Ai told police their actions were illegal, officers replied: “Do you know before Liu Shaoqi died, he was holding the constitution? … Talk about illegality, there’s no difference between the country that we are in now and the time of the Cultural Revolution.” Liu was one of China’s top leaders but was purged and died during the brutal political turmoil which Mao Zedong unleashed in the 1960s. Reuters’s source said police told Ai: “You criticised the government, so we are going to let all society know that you’re an obscene person, you evaded taxes, you have two wives, we want to shame you. We’ll not use politics to deal with you.” Even on the day of his release, officers reminded Ai he could still face 10 years in jail for inciting subversion to state power – a vaguely-worded charge often used against dissidents – the source said. He had to agree to conditions including no media interviews, no meetings with foreigners, no use of the internet and no interaction with human rights advocates for one year from his return home. Ai has given few details of his detention, beyond saying that he experienced “extreme conditions”, and says he is not able to give interviews. But he has spoken to media including the Guardian, and this week attacked the treatment of friends held because of him in several Twitter messages . Ai Weiwei China Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk