Disabled Chinese land rights activist released after two-and-a-half-years in jail

A disabled Chinese activist, who was jailed for two-and-a-half-years for causing a 'public disturbance', has reportedly been released from prison.

Ni Yulan, a lawyer who helped defend property rights, was detained during a wave of arrests in 2011 and initially received a 32-month jail sentence, although an appeals court in China in 2012 dismissed her fraud conviction, reducing her jail time by two months.

According to the BBC, the imprisonment of Yulan, who uses a wheelchair as a result of 'mistreatment by police' over the years, had caused international concern, with Yulan saying that she was now in poor health as her illness was not treated during her detention.

Threatening to sue the police and seek redress, Yulan insisted that she would fight on or 'wait for her death', adding that the charges were trumped up to stop her work defending people evicted from their homes.

Yulan further said that she wants the police to return her assets, adding that they had torn down her home without giving any compensation and leaving her and her husband, who has also been given a jail sentence, homeless.

Both Yulan and her husband are known for providing legal help to people whose homes have been seized by the government, the report added.