« Socio-economic Status Linked To Aging | Main | From Banners In Iraq To Hezbollah In Lebanon - It's The Mahdi At Work »
July 20, 2006
Trial of China Activist Delayed
Topics: AbortionIt appears the prosecution lacks evidence and is having difficulty using their usual tactics due to the international spotlight:
The trial of a blind Chinese legal activist who exposed forced abortions and sterilisations has been delayed because the prosecution lacked sufficient evidence, his lawyer said on Thursday.Chen taught himself the law and was looked upon as a hero when he helped people with disabilities avoid illegal fees and taxes and forced a paper mill to stop spewing toxic chemicals into his village's river. His status changed the day he organized a class-action lawsuit against the local government for forcing peasants to have late-term abortions and be sterilizedOutside the courthouse in the eastern province of Shandong, some 40-50 supporters of Chen Guangcheng scuffled with people they described as thugs and plainclothes police.
His case is typical of efforts to punish lawyers, journalists and participants in environmental, health and religious groups who expose abuses or organize people in a manner officials consider threatening. Like Mr. Chen, they are often accused of fraud, illicit business practices or leaking state secrets, charges that do not reflect the political nature of their offenses.Here are some examples from the same article:
Mr. Li and other lawyers helping Mr. Chen said they had received death threats when visiting Linyi, one of which Mr. Li recorded on his cellphone. He said the police had declined to investigate. Villagers say they have been warned not to appear as witnesses for Mr. Chen."The brutal enforcement of the one-child forced-abortion program is the consistent policy of Beijing," a spokesman for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children told CNS News.When Mr. Li tried to enter the village early this month to take depositions, he said, he was surrounded by thugs. They told him to leave the area. When he refused, they pushed his car into a ditch and rolled it onto its roof. Mr. Li and a fellow lawyer were lightly injured. Much of the confrontation was captured surreptitiously on videotape by a supporter of Mr. Chen.
"We can hardly have high expectations of a fair trial," says Mr. Teng, the legal scholar, "when criminals are in charge of the law."
"When Chen tried to make proper use of China's legal system, the response wasn't due process," Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.
Related:
Opponent of Forced Abortions Faces Trial in China
Chronology of Chen Guangcheng's Case
China Police Take Chen Guangcheng's Wife, Allow Thugs to Beat Supporter
China Activist Against Forced Abortions Will be Put on Trial Next Week
Family of China Activist Against Force Abortions Abducted, Lawyers Meet Chen
Source: ProLifeBlogs
Posted by tim at July 20, 2006 10:44 AM
Articles Related to Abortion:
- Trial of China Activist Delayed - Jul 20, 2006
