US prisoner freed after 10 years in China prison

SHANGHAI: A US citizen has been released from a jail in China  after serving 10 years of a 16-year term for violating tax laws, a US  official and rights groups said on Thursday.

Jude Shao was released from a Shanghai jail on parole  on Wednesday, a US embassy spokeswoman in Beijing, Diane Sovereign, said.

“US ambassador Clark Randt has spoken to Shao by telephone, confirming and welcoming his release from prison,” she said.

Shao’s case had drawn the attention of the US government at the highest level, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top US diplomats repeatedly calling for his release, she said.

Shao was arrested in 1998 and convicted of tax evasion in March 2000 when his 16-year sentence was handed down.