Free At Last

China has released its longest-serving political prisoner, a 76-year-old former elementary school teacher imprisoned since 1983 for campaigning against Chinese rule in Tibet, human rights activists announced Wednesday.

Tanak Jigme Sangpo, a Tibetan, was released Sunday afternoon from Drapchi Prison in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, said John Kamm, president of the San Francisco-based Duihua Foundation. Chinese officials said he was released on medical parole, Kamm said.

Jigme Sangpo moved into his niece's home in Lhasa, but Chinese authorities agreed to consider a request to be treated abroad if he cannot obtain effective medical treatment in Tibet, Kamm said.

Jigme Sangpo was arrested in September 1983 and sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of "counterrevolutionary incitement and propaganda" for campaigning against Chinese rule in Tibet, according to Kamm. His sentence was extended twice after that and had been due to expire on Dec. 3, 2011, when he would be in his mid-80s. Prison authorities exempted him from physical labor several years ago because of his age, Kamm said.

Kamm said the release was likely made "in order to improve relations with the United States."

Jigme Sangpo was one of five prisoners cited by U.S. Ambassador Clark T. Randt in a January speech in Hong Kong in which he urged China to respect international norms on human rights.

Beijing has made a practice in the past year of releasing prisoners when it wants to curry favor with Washington over human rights - the most persistent sticking point in China-U.S. relations.

By Joe McDonald