China should pardon prisoners in Olympic year: group

BEIJING (Reuters) - A U.S. rights group appealed to China on Thursday to grant a pardon to long-serving prisoners in conjunction with the Olympics, saying such a move would leave a humanitarian legacy for future hosts of the Games.

The Dui Hua Foundation, which seeks the release of political prisoners in China, sent a letter to Wu Bangguo, who chairs the country's legislature, making the appeal.

In a separate statement, John Kamm, who heads the foundation, said a pardon would allow for the early release of remaining prisoners jailed in connection with the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement, which was crushed by China's military.

"An Olympic pardon would not target any one group of prisoners," Kamm said.

"But a pardon for those who have served the great bulk of their sentences would result in the release of the remaining prisoners from June 1989 -- symbolically putting that tragedy behind the Chinese people," he said.

Beijing's hosting of the summer Games, which open on August 8, has thrown the rights record of China's Communist government into the spotlight and led to calls for it to act on a number of issues, from media freedoms to the detention of activists.

A pardon would reflect Olympic principles, which have promoted peace, solidarity and humanitarianism, Kamm said.

China lost its bid to host the 2000 Olympics in a campaign overshadowed by the Tiananmen Square crackdown and secured this year's Games in part by promising to improve rights.

(Reporting by Lindsay Beck; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

("Countdown to Beijing Olympics" blog at blogs.reuters.com/china)