Human Rights Watch calls on China to release the Doctor who blew the whistle on SARS: Chinese authorities should immediately release Dr. Jiang Yanyong, a government critic who exposed the government's cover-up of last year's SARS epidemic, Human Rights Watch said today. Dr. Jiang, 72 years old, and his wife Dr. Hua Zhongwei, have been heard from only once since government agents arbitrarily detained them on June 1 while en route to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to obtain a visa. Dr. Jiang's detention appears to have been part of the government's crackdown on critics ahead of the fifteenth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 1989. He had publicly called for a reexamination of the events surrounding the massacre. Several dissidents were harassed and effectively subjected to house arrest. On June 1, Drs. Jiang and Hua left their home in an official hospital car and were expected back in two hours. They have not been seen since. On June 4 one of the couple's children received a note from Dr. Hua saying they were fine, but suggesting that the family not plan for their usual summer vacation. On June 8 officials notified their son he should deliver some of his father's personal belongings to Chinese authorities. Such requests generally signal a release is not imminent. No criminal charges have been filed against Dr. Jiang and his wife. "When a courageous doctor points out the Chinese government's abusive practices, he should be honored," said Sam Zarifi, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division. "Instead, the government has detained Dr. Jiang and held him incommunicado."