“Hu Jia was taken away by the Tongzhou public security bureau this morning,” said Qi Zhiyong, a pro-democracy advocate whose legs were amputated after being run over by a military vehicle during the June 4, 1989 crackdown on democracy demonstrations.

“Eight police came to his apartment and took him away without giving any reason. His wife is very worried,” Qi said.

Hu’s pregnant wife Zeng Jingyan told AFP the two were planning to leave Beijing on Friday for Hong Kong as part of their annual departure from the capital during the anniversary.

“There must be some reason for the police action, the situation is complicated, it is hard to know the reasons, but his situation is abnormal,” Zeng told AFP.

“This is not right because if we are not in Beijing (during June 4) the authorities should feel at ease.”

Hu has been involved in a series of rights issues in China including AIDS awareness, environmental activism and democracy campaigning, and has been detained or put under house arrest on numerous occasions.

Police in the capital’s Tongzhou district refused to comment.

Police, fearing instability in the capital, every year pressure dissidents and leaders of rights groups like the Tiananmen Mothers, a grouping of families of those killed during the massacre, to leave Beijing ahead of the anniversary.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of unarmed protesters and citizens were gunned down on the streets of Beijing as the military ended six weeks of unprecedented peaceful democracy protests.

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