BEIJING, CHINA - Beijing police on Friday rejected a bail plea and a second formal request for access to prominent human rights activist Hu Jia, who was detained a month ago, his lawyer said.

Police said the case involved "state secrets", which allows them to deny access to a suspect, Li Jinsong said. He also had sought bail for Hu, saying his client suffers from a liver disease.

"But police said that he could not be released because he would be a danger to society," said Li, a Beijing-based lawyer.

Hu, 34, was taken by police on December 27 on charges of "incitement to subvert state power." A previous request by his lawyers to see him was turned down two weeks ago.

Hu's wife and fellow activist Zeng Jinyan has been under house arrest at the couple's Beijing home with their infant child since he was detained.

Hu, one of China's most active human rights campaigners, has acted as a clearinghouse of information on rights abuses by the government.

Activists and human rights groups have said his detention was part of a crackdown by Beijing on its critics ahead of the Olympics in August, violating promises it made to win its bid to host the Games.

Many intellectuals and activists have been placed under house arrest or had other restrictions imposed on them in recent weeks, the China Human Rights Defenders said in a report this month.

The group, a network of domestic and foreign activists, said the crackdown was expected to intensify as the Games approached.