Dissident artist banned from foreign travel for ‘crimes’

The dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been banned indefinitely from foreign travel as police investigate allegations of bigamy, illegal currency deals and online pornography. He had planned to visit Britain, the United States and Germany later this year.

Ai, who described the investigations as ‘‘crazy, ridiculous, absurd’’, said he was particularly disappointed he would not be able to visit London to see the Serpentine Summer Pavilion, which he helped to design.

‘‘The reasons the police gave for keeping the ban in place were so vague and ridiculous. But the problem is that this is a country without any clear law – they can bend the law any time they like to do anything they like,’’ he said.

Police said Ai’s passport would not be returned yesterday as promised as they continued to investigate him for various ‘‘crimes’’. These included forwarding via email one of his works of art called One Tiger, Eight Breasts, a satirical but not erotic photo in which the artist sits naked with four women.

The other investigations are thought to relate to the fact that, although married, Ai regularly sees a long-term girlfriend who is the mother of his young son. The currency-related investigation arises from a project in which Ai paid a group of visiting architects in Swiss francs but received Chinese currency in return.

‘‘The details are not really important,’’ he said. ‘‘The only purpose of these investigations is to prevent me travelling to London and Washington. I don’t know what they are scared of.’’

It is one year since Ai was released from 81 days of detention by the Chinese authorities. His ‘‘disappearance’’ in April 2011 drew condemnation from governments and artists around the world.

Ai had previously been told that he would be free to travel from June 22, following a yearlong probation during which he was under intense police scrutiny and was not allowed to leave Beijing. Yesterday he made his first trip outside his home without having to inform the police in advance where he was going.