China Intermediate Court Rejects Human Rights Advocate Chen's Appeal

The Intermediate People's Court in China's Shandong Province on Friday rejected an appeal by human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng -- who was arrested in China after attempting to bring a class-action lawsuit against the government for alleged human rights abuses associated with the enforcement of the country's one-child-per-family policy -- to reverse a four-year, three-month prison sentence, Xinhuanet reports (Xinhuanet, 1/12). For his lawsuit, Chen recorded testimony from men and women in communities in and around China's Linyi province who experienced forced abortions and sterilizations. In August 2006, he was sentenced by a court in Shandong to four years and three months in prison for allegedly "willfully damaging property" and "organizing a mob to disturb traffic." An appeals court in Shandong in October ordered a retrial. According to Li Jingsong, one of Chen's attorneys, the court overturned the sentence "because the process of the first trial was unfair, and facts and evidence ... were not tenable and did not hold water." However, in the retrial, a court in Shandong in December upheld prison sentence (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 12/1/2006). The verdict from the Intermediate People's Court said "the facts were clear and the evidence was sufficient" at the retrial, according to Li. Li said Chen is not permitted another appeal; however, Li said he plans to petition China's high court and possibly the central leadership to have the sentence reversed. Chen also plans to apply for medical parole because he is legally blind, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports (Olesen, AP/International Herald Tribune, 1/12). Li said, "We are not about to give up until these people are fully exposed," adding, "This case is about local officials abusing their powers and using illegal methods to implement policy." Human Rights Watch in its annual report released Thursday highlighted Chen's case as an example of the "significant deterioration" of human rights conditions in China," Agence France-Presse reports (Agence France-Presse, 1/12). Chen's wife Yuan Weijing said the court had not notified her of the final verdict, but she added, "I am really angry. It is just lawless here. They can make up whatever charges and put you behind bars" (Reuters, 1/12).

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