China is set to release the last prisoner involved in the infamous Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 after almost 30 years in jail, a human rights group said on Tuesday.

Duihua Foundation, a US-based human rights organization, said Miao Deshun, now 51 years old, is due to be released this October after serving less than 30 years in jail.

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Deshun was one of the thousands of young students who led demonstrations in the Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989.

Death sentence

The human rights group said that a court had originally meted out a suspended death sentence on Deshun for arson. He was accused of burning a military tank during the demonstrations.

Deshun's sentence was reduced to life imprisonment, and over the years, his jail term has been cut down significantly because of good behavior.

"People who served sentences with him in the 1990s remember him as a very thin man who refused to admit wrongdoing and participate in prison labour," the foundation said in a statement.

The human rights group said Deshun has been diagnosed with schizophrenia while in jail and had spent a tremendous amount of time in solitary confinement.

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 hogged the headlines for months, and China was condemned by the international community for its method of dealing with the demonstrators.

TagsTiananmen Square Protests, Tiananmen Square Massacre, Miao Deshun, student demonstrators, Beijing, tragedy