Attorney for Jailed Chinese Activist Cites Obstruction

BEIJING, Aug. 30 -- Defense attorneys for a blind rural activist sentenced to more than four years in prison said that they were prevented from meeting with their client privately on Wednesday and that authorities tried to stop them from preparing an appeal.

The activist, Chen Guangcheng, was found guilty last Thursday of disrupting traffic and disturbing public order, charges that his supporters say were trumped up to punish him for exposing forced abortions and sterilizations in eastern China. Three of his attorneys were detained, one was held until the trial was over, and Chen was represented, over his objections, by court-appointed lawyers.

His own attorneys met with him Wednesday for the first time since before the Aug. 18 trial. One of them, Li Jinsong, said Chen appeared to be in good health and in good spirits. "He's mentally very strong," said Li, who was among the lawyers detained and accused of petty theft the night before the trial in an apparent attempt to influence the proceedings.

Li and another defense attorney were able to see Chen at a detention center in Yinan county, in Shandong province. The attorneys sat on one side of a meeting room, accompanied by a police officer and separated from Chen by a metal fence. A police officer also sat next to Chen, violating a law that permits attorneys to meet with their clients privately, Li said.

Chen told his attorneys that he had asked for a meeting with them at least 10 times. Li said the judge never notified him of the requests. At one point, Chen asked his two attorneys to help with his appeal, and Li said that he began to read a draft of one that they were preparing.

"I listed every single illegal activity done by the Yinan authorities, and I also put what happened to me and the other Beijing lawyers the night before the trial. Then the door opened. Three police officers came in and shouted for me stop reading my draft and told us to get out," Li said.

"I shouted, 'I will not let anybody get away with any illegal activity.' They then took away our red ink pad and then I said, 'Okay, I will not read my draft.' Then they returned my ink pad so that Chen could give us his fingerprint and approval" for the appeal, Li said.

"Then the judge of the trial, Mr. Wang, came in. He said, 'These two Beijing lawyers refused to come to court when we had the trial.' I shouted, 'That's untrue,' " Li said.

Judge Wang then said, "You're only allowed to say one more sentence," according to Li.

Li continued: "And then I shouted, 'I'm doing my work here, you should get out. I'm here meeting my client, not you.' The judge got mad and asked how I dared say that to him. I shouted, 'If you don't go, I will ask the police officers to kick you out.' So, I didn't finish reading my draft," Li said. The meeting ended about 40 minutes after it began.

Officials in Linyi, the city where Chen revealed abuses in enforcing China's one-child-only policy, could not be reached for comment. Chen angered authorities in the area last year by preparing a class-action lawsuit that exposed measures such as forced abortions and sterilizations. Rights groups and diplomats have decried the case against Chen and have pointed to it as evidence that China has not made any real effort to impose the rule of law.

Researcher Jin Ling contributed to this report.