Chen Guangcheng Still Under Severe House Arrest

 The following is from our friends at China Aid.  

 After blind human rights defender Chen Guangcheng was interviewed by RFA reporter Zhang Min on September 13, media lost direct contact with him and his wife. However, one of their friends, Zeng Jinyan, mentioned in her blog that she had contacted Chen and his wife on September 23.  Since then, there has been no word from them.  

Zeng Jinyan wrote in her blog, “Chen Guangcheng  mother-in-law recently visited Chen in his home.  When she arrived, she was physically searched by government-paid guards keeping Chen’s family under house arrest. A few days before, on the September 20, the local communist leader of the town invaded Chen’s home with at least 4 policemen and over 20 guards.  They stayed there for six hours.”  

The guards on watch currently have free rein of Chen’s house, intruding any time they wish.  Not only have they invaded the family’s privacy – they also threatened them, saying, “Don’t you really know who holds you little life in their hands?”

The local government forced Chen to cut off all external communications. The guards do not allow Chen or his wife out of their house.  The family relies on Chen’s 78-year-old mother, the only one who is allowed to go out, to buy their food.  The guards have even forbidden Chen’s 5-year-old daughter from going to school.

Chen Guangcheng and Gao Zhisheng, both Christian human rights defenders who continue to suffer for their work, have been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.  The award will be made tomorrow, October 8, 2010.