BERLIN (AFP).- A German man held in a Beijing prison for more than 100 days last year on suspicion of art smuggling has left China, Germany's foreign minister said Tuesday.

Guido Westerwelle said in a statement that Nils Jennrich had departed China on Tuesday and voiced relief that "many months of uncertainty and concern" for his family was "over for the present".

The foreign ministry declined to give information about his current whereabouts.

Westerwelle said the proceedings in China against Jennrich were still under way.

Jennrich was taken into custody on March 29 last year and formally detained on May 7 for allegedly under-reporting the value of imported art to evade 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) in taxes, his lawyer said in July.

He was released on bail in August.

German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has in the past called Jennrich's detention conditions "unacceptable" and "not in accordance with international minimum standards".

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang is due to begin a visit to Germany from Sunday when he will meet Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The sentence for evading more than 500,000 yuan in duties ranges from 10 years to life, though courts may issue a lighter punishment.

Jennrich worked in Beijing as general manager for Hong Kong-based Integrated Fine Arts Solutions.

The company imports a small amount of art, while focusing on providing storage for mainly Chinese pieces for clients, its managing director Torsten Hendricks has said.




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