Strasbourg, 18/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - In a resolution adopted on Thursday 17 January, the European Parliament firmly condemns the arrest of Hu Jia and demands his prompt release and that of all dissidents who have been arrested and jailed for crimes of opinion in China. It urges the Chinese authorities to guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of the human rights activist and former Sakharov Prize nominee, Mr Hu Jia, who was taken into police custody on 22 September 2007 on charges of inciting subversion. After this new measure aimed at silencing all criticism before the Olympic Games in Beijing, MEPs call on the authorities of the country not to take the 2008 Olympic Games as a pretext to arrest and illegally detain and imprison dissidents, journalists and human rights activists who either report on, or demonstrate against, human rights abuses. They urge China to reform its criminal law to allow greater freedom of expression to journalists, writers, freelancers, reporters, etc, who will report to the world on such an important event as the Olympic Games. Such reform will also make it possible to clarify the scope of certain unclear legal provisions (for example Article 105 of China's Criminal Code) and give the world a positive signal that the Seventeenth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party paved the way for greater respect for different opinions. (A.B.)