Court upholds jail term for blind birth-control activist
A Shandong court has upheld a four-year, three-month sentence handed to blind activist Chen Guangcheng for obstructing traffic and damaging property after a retrial.
The court rejected the pleas of defence lawyers, accepting the evidence presented by prosecutors as fact, Xinhua reported.
Defence lawyer Li Jinsong said he was surprised by the verdict and condemned local officials for abducting and intimidating the key witnesses who had agreed to testify in the retrial on Monday.
He said four key witnesses were taken away and intimidated, including one abducted in the presence of the legal team, the day before the retrial.
Chen's brother, Chen Guangfu , said one of the witnesses, Chen Guanghe , who was taken away by several unidentified men, was still missing yesterday, while others were warned to return to their village to work.
Chen Guangfu said he was surprised by the court's decision as the lawyers had presented a strong case in the retrial and he thought his brother would be released, or at least have his sentence shortened.
Mr Li described the punishment as unusually harsh for such minor charges.
Chen Guangcheng irritated officials when he revealed villagers were forced to undergo abortions and other coercive birth-control measures.
Mr Li said: 'The maximum sentence for obstructing traffic is five years in jail. The sentence given to Chen Guangcheng is close to maximum. I have never heard of such a harsh sentence.'
He said that of the 100 people the prosecutor said were involved in the traffic incident, only five were from Chen's family and the others were officials.
'The sentence is a political decision, it is not a legal decision,' Chen Guangfu said.
Chen Guangcheng's wife, Yuan Weijing , was in hospital under surveillance by local authorities after falling ill following arguments with local officials, Chen Guangfu said.
Lawyers who went to Yinan county, Shandong, to help Chen Guangcheng were repeatedly intimidated, roughed up or even detained by local officials, raising doubts about the possibility of a fair trial.
Chen Guangcheng, 35, was blinded by illness in infancy. He taught himself law, became a 'barefoot' lawyer and helped to focus attention on violent birth-control measures, including forced abortions at eight months of pregnancy.
