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Brian Conley of Philadelphia and Jeff Rae of Wayne, Delaware County, were with a group from Students for a Free Tibet when they were arrested by Beijing police last week.
Rae's father, William, said last night that Jeff called from the Beijing airport.
"He was roughed up a bit, but he's OK, and we're happy he's coming home," William Rae said by phone.
"Jeff said he was slapped around and threatened, with them saying, 'Do you want your head cut off or do you want to be shot?' " William Rae said. "All they had to eat was rice and hot water. After they fell asleep, they were awakened and taken to an interrogation room, and it started all over."
Conley and Rae were among a group reportedly sentenced to 10 days in jail. But they were released early, coinciding with yesterday's closing ceremonies of the Olympics.
"They tore up his plane ticket, but when they got to the airport, they told him to use his credit card to buy a ticket on Air China," William Rae said. "He said no, and they took his credit card and charged the flight. Another guy didn't have a credit card or money, so they charged his ticket with Jeff's credit card."
Conley's wife, Eowyn Rieke, said she got a message from her husband saying he had been released.
"It's a great relief, and we're happy that he's coming home," said Rieke, a doctor in Philadelphia. "The issues of Tibet and freedom of speech in China are still there, but it will be nice to have him home so we can work on them together."
No rallies were held during the Olympics in three parks designated as protest zones after Chinese officials declined to issue permits to 77 applicants, and detained some of them. But activists, most of them foreign, staged a series of small, illegal demonstrations near Olympic venues and at Beijing landmarks.
U.S. ambassador Clark T. Randt Jr. had pressed the Chinese government Saturday to release the eight, according to the Associated Press. "We encourage the government of China to demonstrate respect for human rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of religion, of all people during the Olympic Games and beyond," a U.S. embassy statement said yesterday.
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