Chen Guang-cheng
Chen Guang-cheng is a blind and self-taught human rights lawyer. He began his advocacy work by fighting for more rights for people with disabilities and better environmental laws in China. He won several key lawsuits and
became known as a fearless human rights defender. Chen later gained international attention when he represented the women of Shangdong province who were victims of China’s strict one child police and subsequently exposed the truth on forced abortions in China. In March 2005, when families in Linyi, Shangdong started approaching Chen about personal horror stories of forced late term abortions and botched sterilization procedures, Chen decided to file a class action lawsuit on the women’s behalf. He exposed the illegal measures used by local authorities enforcing the one-child policy. The lawsuit was denied and Chen and his family were put under house arrest. In September 2005, Chen managed to escape to Beijing to meet with supportive lawyers who would help him pursue the case. In Beijing, Chen was publicly abducted by Linyi officials and returned to house arrest. He was formally arrested in June 2006. On the eve of his trial, Chen’s lawyers were detained. On August 24, 2006, after a two-hour trial, Chen was charged with “destruction of property” and “assembling a crowd to disrupt traffic”and was sentenced to over 4 years in prison. He has allegedly been beaten in prison and denied prisoner’s rights. His family reports new scars and wounds during their monthly visits.
