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Blind Chinese legal activist released-reports

by reuters | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Thursday, 9 September 2010 06:22 GMT

BEIJING, Sept 9 (Reuters) - A blind Chinese legal activist, who drew international attention for being jailed after he took on officials over forced abortions, was released on Thursday but is likely to remain under tight guard, human rights groups said.

Chen Guangcheng became one of China's most prominent "rights defenders", emerging from a village in eastern Shandong province, where he overcame blindness since early childhood to school himself in law and advise aggrieved residents.

He was released in the morning, more than four years after he was convicted on charges of damaging property and disrupting traffic in a protest, Radio Free Asia and Chinese legal activists said. He and his family maintained the charge was fabricated.

"My friends have told me he was released this morning, so I think he's out of jail, but I haven't spoken to him myself. The phones for his wife and family are blocked," said Xu Zhiyong, a Beijing-based lawyer who helped defend Chen in 2006.

Chen's other lawyers also said they had not been able to directly contact his family to confirm his release, and repeated calls to Chen's wife, Yuan Weijing, did not go through.

Chen attracted widespread attention in 2005 by accusing officials in Shandong of enforcing late-term abortions in a drive to enforce Chinese rules that restrict most couples to one child in cities and two children in the countryside.

He also advised farmers in land disputes and campaigned for improved treatment of the disabled.

"He has generated a lot of support inside China, because the issues he raised affect large numbers of people," said Sharon Hom of New York-based Human Rights in China.

Chen said he was in poor health, with a longstanding gastric ailment, and had been physically abused in prison, reported Radio Free Asia, a U.S. government-funded news service with headquarters in Washington D.C.

Despite his formal release, Chen is likely to face constant police surveillance and restrictions on his movements, said human rights groups that have campaigned for his freedom.

China's ruling Communist Party says it fully respects citizens' rights. Police and officials, however, have sweeping powers to confine citizens who challenge the government.

Human Rights Watch, another New York-Based group, said officials have "allocated significant resources to pay for Chen's long-term surveillance", including video monitors outside his home.

"For some Chinese activists, the end of a prison term is just the beginning of a life-long sentence of police surveillance and harassment," said Sophie Richardson, acting Asia director of the group, in an emailed statement. (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Ken Wills)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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