Ai Weiwei 'felt near death'
12 April 2012
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei believed he was "close to death" during 81 days in a secret police detention centre.
He was hooded and interrogated repeatedly in an attempt to break him, said a source close to the critic of the communist regime.
Held on tax fraud charges in April, Ai was guarded by two soldiers in a tiny windowless cell and never allowed out, the BBC was told. He called it "the toughest situation a human being can be in". Ai, 54, has been banned from speaking out since his release.
