一直關注愛滋病、環保及弱勢社群權利的維權人士胡佳，多年來為社會弱勢社群或不公義的事情發聲。2007年12月底被拘捕前，他已被長期軟禁在家，失去真正自由，期間更不時遭遇綁架、短期拘留及被公安施虐等。然而，胡佳未為所懼，仍克服困難將民間違反人權的事情向外披露。
2008年4月3日，北京第一中級人民法院以胡佳在2004年至07年在美國註冊的一個中文網站《博訊》上撰寫五篇文章及接受海外媒體两次訪問，裁定他「煽動顛覆國家政權」罪名成立，這無疑是一宗以言入罪的典例，立即引起世界關注和不滿。而在上訴期完結時，北京看守所人員更支開胡佳，令律師無法與他接觸而失去上訴權。
香港記者協會和國際記者聯會對判決感到憤慨，特發起簽名運動，期望在2008年5月12日佛誕日交予中國當局，要求中國法院立即釋放胡佳。
現年34歲胡佳，患有肝硬化逾年，在失去上訴權後，改為尋求保外就醫。與丈夫一起抗爭而同樣面對軟禁的妻子曾金燕，月前為他誕下女兒。
2007年，胡佳及妻子曾金燕同時獲得「無國界記者」頒發「新聞自由特別獎」，而胡佳更被評委稱為「為了中國大陸的表達自由，進行和平對抗的最傑出代表之一。」
Hu Jia is a human rights activist who has been concerned with social affairs, AIDS, environmental issues and defence of the weakest groups in society. Before his arrest by the Public Security Bureau at the end of Dec 2007, he had been under house arrest for a long time. Before he finally lost complete freedom he had been kidnapped, detained for a short period and physically tortured by the police in China. Hu, however, did not bow to these brutalities; instead, he overcame all obstacles and succeeded in disseminating details of human rights abuses within China to the outside world.
Hu Jia was convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” by the Beijing No 1 People’s Intermediate Court on April 3, 2008, for voluntarily accepting two foreign media interviews and publishing five articles from 2001 to 2007 on Boxun, a banned Chinese-language website based in the United States . This is one of the worst cases of anyone being jailed for what he had written in China. His conviction and imprisonment drew a lot of attention and criticisms abroad. The Beijing Municipal Detention Centre denied Hu his right to meet with his lawyer to lodge an appeal against his jail sentence right to the very end of his period of appeal.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association and International Federation of Journalists have been outraged by the verdict and are launching this signature campaign for justice. We hope that the Central Government of China understands our anger and will release Hu Jia as soon as possible. We will present these signatures to the authorities in China on 12th May, 2008 which marks the birth of Buddha.
Hu, 34, is applying for a medical parole after he lost his rights to appeal his sentence . Hu has been suffering from cirrhosis of the liver for years. His wife, Zeng Jinyan, has also been under house arrest for years and gave birth to a baby girl a few months ago.
In 2007 Hu and his wife were awarded a special “China” prize by Reporters Without Borders—Fondation de France. Hu was commended by one of the panelists as an exemplary fighter for freedom of expression in China through peaceful methods.
聯署聲明 The declaration
我們是一群支持和熱愛言論自由的人士和團體，對維權人士胡佳因發表五篇文章及自願接受媒體两次採訪而被裁定煽動顛覆國家政權罪名成立，判處入獄三年半及褫奪政治權利一年，深感憤慨。
我們認為，北京市第一中級人民法院於2008年4月3日對胡佳的裁決是以言入罪的典型惡例，既違反中國憲法保障公民享有的言論自由，更逾越國際標準訂明任何人均享有言論自由的基本權利及標準。
我們強烈要求中國政府立即釋放胡佳。
We, as individuals and as a group, fully endorse and unreservedly uphold freedom of expression. We are, therefore, angered by the utter disdain of the authorities for the human rights of activist Hu Jia who was sentenced to three and a half years' jail and one year’s denial of political rights on questionable charges of “inciting subversion of state power” by the Beijing No 1 People’s Intermediate Court on April 3, 2008 for writing five articles and voluntarily agreeing to two interviews by the media.
We believe this is an instance of punishing a man merely for his words. This case not only violates the constitution of China which enshrines citizens' right to freedom of expression, but also breaches international protocols to which China is a signatory and which clearly state that freedom of expression is a basic human right .
We demand that the Central Government of China release Hu Jia forthwith.
Click Here to Sign the Petition 聯署按此