“Hu Jia, one of China’s best-known dissidents, was yesterday awarded an EU human rights prize, despite a warning from Beijing that selecting the political prisoner would damage relations.His wife and supporters welcomed the news that MEPs had picked him for the Sakharov prize, worth €50,000 (£39,500) Previous recipients include Nelson Mandela and the East Timorese leader, Xanana Gusmao.“Hu Jia is one of the real defenders of human rights in the People’s Republic of China,” said Hans-Gert Poettering, president of the European parliament.Hu was sentenced to three and a half years in jail this spring on subversion charges, amid what human rights campaigners described as a coordinated crackdown on activists before the Olympics.via EU defies Beijing warning to award dissident human rights prize // CurrentThis video shows the actual harrassment from police officers on Hu Jia:Posted in Freedom, politics Tagged: AIDS, China, European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, Hu Jia, Sakharov Price