Human Rights Voices

While the UN devotes its human rights operations to the demonization of the democratic state of Israel above all others and condemns the United States more often than the vast majority of non-democracies around the world, the voices of real victims around the world must be heard.

China, August 28, 2006

Blind social activist imprisoned after show trial

Original source

The Wall Street Journal

"In most countries, a blind social activist who taught himself law to fight for the rights of the disabled and other victims of abuse would be treated as a hero, and feted with all kinds of rewards. Especially if he courageously exposed forced abortions and sterilizations that even the government agrees are against the law. But, in China, Chen Guangcheng's reward for doing this is prison. He was sentenced to four years and three months Thursday, on trumped up charges of "gathering a crowd to disrupt traffic" and damaging $680 worth of government property. That Mr. Chen was under house arrest at the time these "crimes" allegedly occurred didn't seem to trouble the court. Not that there was anyone to raise this point during the two-hour hearing. Three lawyers who sought to defend the blind activist were detained by local police in the northeast Chinese province of Shandong, and accused of stealing a wallet. Instead the judge simply announced that Mr. Chen's silence during the "trial" amounted to an admission of guilt."