Chinese dissident freed after 16 years in prison

BEIJING, Aug 26 (Reuters) - One of China's longest-held political prisoners was released on Tuesday after serving 16 years of a 20-year jail sentence for setting up an opposition party in defiance of a ban by ruling Communist authorities.

Hu Shigen, 53, was greeted by family members when he emerged from a Beijing prison, his brother told Reuters. Hu's family had travelled to Beijing from their hometown in Jiangxi province in southern China for his release.

Plainclothes police prevented fellow dissidents from leaving their Beijing homes to greet him, activist Zhao Xin said by telephone.

Hu could not be interviewed by reporters because he is still deprived of his political rights for four more years.

The release came two days after the close of the Beijing Olympics, an event that activists said set back rights in China. (Reporting by Benjamin Kang Lim; Editing by Lindsay Beck and Paul Tait)