Artist Ai Weiwei sues tax officials for violations

BEIJING – Outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says he is suing tax officials for what he says is acting illegally in demanding his company pay a large fine for alleged tax evasion.

Ai says he filed a lawsuit Friday at the Beijing High Court against the No. 2 Inspection Squad of the Beijing tax bureau. He says it violated laws in handling witnesses, evidence and company accounts in his case.

He says the court will decide in a week whether to accept the lawsuit.

Ai was detained for three months last year during an overall crackdown on dissent. Following his release, authorities demanded his design company pay $2.4 million in back taxes and fines. Activists interpreted the penalty as punishment for his government criticism.

Calls to the tax bureau rang unanswered.