Pressure mounted on China yesterday to release imprisoned journalists before the Beijing Games amid growing calls for Olympic chiefs to stand up for free speech.

Politicians, athletes and civil libertarians are demanding that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) force the Communist regime to honour a commitment made in 2000 when Beijing won the Games. That was to “be open in every aspect to the rest of the country and the whole world” and to “follow international standards and criteria”.

The World Association of Newspapers, a press freedom group, said that China had failed to fulfil its promises. It has released a series of advertisements featuring the Olympic rings and medals fashioned into handcuffs.

USA Today, Metro in Poland, the Birmingham Mail in Britain and RIA Novosti, a Russian news agency, have carried the advertisements to high-light the plight of 30 journalists and 50 cyber-dissidents.

“Our media colleagues in China deserve our solidarity and support as they bravely endeavour to become free and independent in the face of this crushing repression,” Timothy Balding, its chief executive, wrote.

The campaign is part of an international effort to use the Olympics to draw attention to constraints in China. There are fears that the Chinese authorities will ignore pledges for reform without international pressure.

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