China Postpones Trial of Family Rights Activist

Blind activist Chen Guangcheng, center, is seen in a village in China. (AP)

BEIJING, July 20 -- The trial of a blind rural lawyer, charged in what rights activists say is a politically motivated case, was postponed Thursday, and a group of his supporters was assaulted by unknown assailants outside the courthouse.

As many as 200 people traveled to China's eastern Shandong province to support Chen Guangcheng, whose exposure of forced abortions and sterilizations embarrassed local officials and shed unwelcome light on the government's family planning policies.

The trial was postponed because prosecutors said they needed to gather more evidence, Chen's attorney said. After hearing the news, about a dozen of Chen's supporters, wearing T-shirts with his picture and words of encouragement, tried to pose for a photograph in front of the courthouse. They were then roughed up by assailants -- whom witnesses described as either local thugs or plainclothes police officers -- and their cameras and video equipment were taken.

The dozen or so supporters were detained and interrogated by police before being released, said Sun Wen Guang, a witness who had gone to the courthouse to support Chen. Later in the afternoon, they tried to visit Chen's village but were turned back by thugs or police officers who also beat them and ripped their T-shirts.

"Everything was robbed, and they were terribly beaten. They were not hospitalized, but they certainly were bleeding," said Hou Wenzhuo, director of the Empowerment and Rights Institute, a Beijing-based nonprofit group. Hou was not at the scene but said her executive director was there and had been assaulted and robbed.

Chen, who is about 34, was a hero in the city of Linyi, about 400 miles southeast of Beijing, where he was celebrated for stopping a paper factory from polluting a river. He now faces charges of destroying public property and disrupting traffic.

His attorney and supporters say he is being punished for trying to organize a rare class-action lawsuit revealing abuses in enforcing China's one-child family planning policy. Officials allegedly forced thousands of women to be sterilized or to have abortions as late as eight months into their pregnancies.

On Thursday, Chen's attorney described the delay in the trial as a positive sign.

"I was told by the judge that the prosecutors said they needed to verify and add more evidence," Li Jinsong said in a telephone interview. "This is a good sign. It means the original evidence is not adequate."

Chen's wife was less optimistic.

"We don't have much hope," said Yuan Weijing, who is being held under house arrest and was reached by phone. "We know they can put him on trial and sentence him whenever they want. They are just waiting until there are fewer people here and fewer people paying attention."

Chen was arrested and charged in June but has been under house arrest or in detention since last September.

Correspondent Philip P. Pan and researcher Jin Ling contributed to this report.