( CNN ) -- Ai Weiwei 's official probation period may have ended , but the internationally-renowned artist and political dissident is pessimistic about his pending tax evasion case and the rule of law in China . `` I feel very sad , very miserable , actually , '' he said in an interview Friday with CNN at his studio in Beijing . Despite the relative freedom of having his travel ban reduced to leaving the country instead of the Chinese capital , Ai was not ready to celebrate . `` You always feel vulnerable and you are not protected by law , '' he said , adding that he has `` no illusion ... any sort of change could be made . '' Ai , 54 , was denied access on Wednesday to the first court hearing in his tax evasion case , which he contends is baseless and politically-motivated . He said more than forty police cars and hundreds of officers surrounded his home . `` You just can not go , if you try , you can not make it , '' he claimed the police told him . Public buses were also prevented from stopping in the area of the court , '' he added . `` They use the tax case to crush me but they do n't want me to show up because ... all facts can be revealed . '' Ai likened the court proceedings to a `` very bad play '' and said he was feeling `` very discouraged '' and `` powerless . '' `` The outcome is very clear . The court works for the police ; the tax bureau also works for the police ; the police is becoming a superpower in China ... And they decide everything because we have a policy : it 's called 'maintain stability ' ... But what is stability ? Is it stability of the nation ? Or of the people ? Or stability of the controller ? '' The outspoken artist , blogger , documentary filmmaker , and architect was on his way to Hong Kong in April 2011 when he was taken into custody at Beijing 's international airport and detained for 81 days amid a government crackdown on political activists . Ai 's studio in Beijing was raided , and his wife and several employees were taken into custody for questioning . The government campaign was attributed to fears of a potential Arab-Spring-style uprising , following online calls for a `` Jasmine Revolution . '' Seven weeks after Ai was taken into custody , state news agency Xinhua reported that Beijing police said his company , Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd. , evaded a `` huge amount of taxes '' and `` intentionally destroyed accounting documents . '' He was released on probation the following June and subjected to severe restrictions on his movements . Ai was forbidden to speak to the media or post on his Twitter account about his detainment . His phone was tapped , his e-mails were checked , and he had to report his appointments with other people to the police . `` I 'm always followed by two or three cars and have police around , '' he said . `` Even [ when I 'm ] walking in the park , you see them taking photos behind the bushes and trying to videotape everything . '' Ai said although he initially minimized his communications , he continued to post on his Twitter account . `` I ask myself if I can really stop , '' he said . `` I 'm an artist . I have to have a real touch with reality ... I have to express myself . I have to communicate . So what I did is really minimal ... demanding for human rights and for freedom of expression . '' In November , the authorities demanded he pay RMB 15 million ( US $ 2.4 million ) in back taxes and fines within two weeks . Tens of thousands of supporters donated more than US $ 1 million to help him pay the bill , some even throwing RMB100 notes folded into paper airplanes over the gate of his house . Ai used the donations to post a payment guarantee of the invoice in order to file an appeal against the charges . Despite the lingering uncertainty over how the case will go , Ai said , `` I do n't think I can stay quiet . But also I do n't know how long I am allowed to have some voice . '' CNN 's Eunice Yoon contributed to this report .
Although Ai Weiwei 's probation period has ended , the Chinese dissident remains pessimistic . Ai 's travel ban has been reduced to leaving the country instead of the Chinese capital . Ai was denied access to the first court hearing in his tax evasion case .