BEIJING (AFP) - A Tibetan nun thought to be the longest-serving female political prisoner in China has been released nine years before the end of her sentence, campaign groups said.
Thursday's freeing of Ngawang Sangdrol from Lhasa's Drapchi Prison on good behaviour parole appears to be a concession to global opinion just ahead of Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to the United States next week.
Jiang is to hold talks with George W. Bush on the US president's Texas ranch during the trip.
According to the San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation, Ngawang Sangdrol, who was born in 1977 and became a nun at the Garu Nunnery north of the city, was convicted of "counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement" in 1992.
This made her one of the youngest people ever convicted of that crime in China, it said in a statement.
"She is believed to be China's longest serving female prisoner convicted of counterrevolution, and her release from prison comes after many years of campaigning by the international human rights community, and by world leaders," it said.
Ngawang Sangdrol was freed Thursday and then reunited with her family, the Dui Hua Foundation said, citing information from authoritative sources in the Chinese government.
Tibetan rights groups welcomed the move, one of a string of early releases for Tibetan prisoners this year, while the US Embassy in Beijing said it was "pleased" at the news.
Ngawang Sangdrol was originally jailed for three years in late 1992, but the term was extended three times for "counterrevolutionary crimes" committed while in prison, setting her release date in 2013.
According to the London-based Tibet Information Network, these new offences included recording songs on cassettes expressing love for homeland and family, which were smuggled out of jail.
Her term was subsequently shortened to end in November 2011 for good behaviour, the Dui Hua Foundation said.
Ngawang Sangdrol's release follows that of several other high-profile Tibetan prisoners this year.
Among these was the region's longest serving political prisoner, Takna Jigme Sangpo, released in June after spending much of the past 40 years in jail.
Of 18 Tibetan prisoners whose cases were raised by the US State Department during a dialogue on human rights with China in Washington a year ago, nine have been freed in the past 12 months, the Dui Hua Foundation said.
Three had been released at the end of their terms and six early.
Last month, representatives of exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama met Chinese authorities in China in the first such contacts since 1993.
This and the prisoner releases have prompted hopes that China could be relaxing its rule on Tibet, which it has governed in an often brutal manner for more than half a century.
Beijing is additionally expected to see a changeover of top leaders in a process beginning with a key Communist Party meeting next month, prompting predictions of possible reform.
The London-based Free Tibet Campaign counselled caution, however, saying "the real test of whether Ngawang Sangdrol's release and the opening of communication with the Tibetan government represents a genuine sea-change will come when this US visit and the political manoeuvrings in Beijing are out of the way."