Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei says he found listening devices in his Beijing studio

BEIJING – Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei says he has found several hidden listening devices in his Beijing studio after he returned from a trip to Germany.

Ai posted photos of the bugs on his Instagram account. He could not be reached, but his friend Liu Xiaoyuan confirmed the reports Monday.

The artist has in the past upset Chinese authorities with boldly critical remarks of the ruling Communist Party and its government. He was briefly detained in 2011 and released after 81 days in jail. The authorities withheld his passport but returned it to him four years later, in July.

Since then, the artist has toned down his criticisms of the government.

It's not clear who was behind the listening devices, although Ai has been under tight surveillance since his 2011 release.