Chinese artist was kept in tiny cell: sister (AFP)

BEIJING (AFP) – Ai Weiwei was kept in a tiny cell and watched constantly by two guards during the nearly three months he spent in detention, the sister of the dissident Chinese artist revealed on Friday.

The guards, who worked three-hour shifts, even watched him when he showered, and the lights in his cell were kept on all night, Ai's sister Gao Ge told AFP.

Ai, an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party whose detention sparked an international outcry, was released last month but has been told he cannot leave Beijing without official permission under his bail conditions.

Little has emerged about the conditions of Ai's incarceration since he was released and the artist has said he is not allowed to give media interviews as part of his bail conditions.

But his sister said Ai spent his time pacing up and down the tiny cell he was kept in.

"I don't know how many square metres the cell was, but he said he had an area of around six tiles to walk up and down," she told AFP by telephone.

"He said he walked a lot -- a distance equivalent to going from Beijing to Shanghai -- because he did not have anything else to do."

Gao said her brother, whose works have been shown around the world and who this week accepted a position with a German university, was not given access to newspapers or books during his detention, and was watched constantly.

"Two people watched him. They changed shifts every three hours and watched him 24 hours a day. They watched him very closely... whatever he did," she added.

"He said there was nothing (in the cell) -- no sunshine, no desk. Just a bed," she said.

Asked how her brother felt about his incarceration, she replied that "he accepted it", adding that he had not been tortured, but had lost a lot of weight during his time in detention.

The avant-garde artist, whose work was recently on display at London's Tate Modern gallery, was detained in April during a major government crackdown on dissidents in China and released last month.

Chinese authorities have charged Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd., a design firm they say is "controlled" by Ai, with evading "a huge amount of taxes".

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Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says assistant freed (AFP)

BEIJING (AFP) – Chinese artist Ai Weiwei confirmed a fourth associate of his had been released from detention, just days after the activist himself was unexpectedly freed on bail.

Ai's assistant Wen Tao returned home on Friday night, the activist told AFP in a text message -- the same day his accountant and designer were freed. The artist's cousin and driver Zhang Jinsong was released Thursday afternoon.

Ai was freed from nearly three months of detention late Wednesday because of his "good attitude" in admitting to tax evasion, his willingness to repay taxes he owes, and on medical grounds, the government said previously.

His detention -- which came during a major government crackdown on activists launched in February -- sparked furious criticism led by Western governments who repeatedly called for his immediate release.

"I'm fine. I'm very happy to be free and I'm very happy to be back with my family," Ai told AFP by telephone early Thursday.

The terms of Ai's bail conditions prevent him leaving Beijing "without permission", the foreign ministry said Thursday, and the previously vocal activist has told foreign media that he cannot accept interviews.

Ai and his four associates were released as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao embarked on a trip to Europe, with stops in Hungary, Britain and Germany.

London and Berlin have been among the most vocal critics of Ai's detention.

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Colleagues of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei released (AP)

BEIJING – Colleagues of Ai Weiwei who were detained along with the outspoken Chinese artist were released around the same time he was, a close friend of Ai's said Saturday.

Ai was released Wednesday after nearly three months in detention. He was one of the most prominent activists detained in China's sweeping crackdown on dissent, which began in February.

Ai's driver Zhang Jinsong, designer Liu Zhenggang and accountant Hu Mingfen were all released this week, Liu Xiaoyuan, a lawyer and a close friend of Ai, said in a phone interview.

Liu said Ai confirmed that the three had been released but did not say exactly when. The 54-year-old Ai has said he is not allowed to discuss his case.

A studio assistant, Wen Tao, also has been released, said Liu Yanping, a volunteer who works with Ai. She said over the phone that Wen's girlfriend told her Saturday that he had been released.

Dozens of rights activists and lawyers have been detained, put under house arrest or disappeared, and several of those who have been released have kept almost totally silent ever since.

Ai was detained on April 3. The authoritarian government said he was released after confessing to tax evasion and pledging to repay the money owed. His family denies the allegations and activists have denounced them as a false premise for detaining an artist critical of the government.

Before his detention, Ai constantly blogged and Twittered on sensitive subjects including the deaths of students in shoddily built schools that collapsed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake; children killed or sickened by tainted infant formula; and a deadly high-rise fire in Shanghai that killed 58 and was blamed on negligent workers and corrupt inspectors.

The Foreign Ministry said the conditions of Ai's parole require him to report to police when asked and bar him from leaving Beijing without permission for one year.

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