Prominent human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng told CNN the conviction
of his nephew in China was retribution for Chen's escape from house
arrest and move to the United States. FULL STORY
Prominent Chinese activist blasts nephew's conviction
December 1, 2012 -- Updated 0823 GMT (1623 HKT)
Chen Guangcheng: Nephew is 'scapegoat'
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Chen Guangcheng says his nephew is being punished in his stead
- The father of Chen Kegui says he's been sentenced to 3 years and 3 months in prison
- Chen Kegui is the nephew of prominent human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng
- He was arrested shortly after his uncle fled house arrest and sought U.S. help in Beijing
The People's Court of
Yinan County in Shandong Province on Friday convicted Chen Kegui, the
nephew, of "intentional infliction of injury" during a clash with local
officials in his home, said Chen Kegui's father, Chen Guangfu. The
nephew was sentenced to more than three years in prison.
He was arrested in early
May in Linyi, a city in Shandong where much of the family lives, shortly
after his uncle escaped more than 18 months of heavily guarded house
arrest and fled to Beijing.
The family has maintained
that Chen Kegui injured a few officials with a kitchen knife in
self-defense, when they broke into his house in the middle of the night
and attacked his family. Chen Guangfu told CNN that "the verdict was
unfair" and that he feels "really disappointed" about it.
"Kegui was just defending
himself," his father said, "and it was them breaking into our house and
started beating us and trying to take us away."
Chen Guangcheng, in an interview with CNN's Richard Roth in New York, said authorities in China want to perpetuate fear.
"With regard to Chen
Kegui, the way that they have handled his case ... in fact this is just
the continuation of my own case," the activist said. "With this
sentence, Chen Kegui is being made a scapegoat for my situation. Because
before this, they tried many times to provoke me, but I didn't fall for
their trick."
Authorities in China
promised to guarantee the safety of his family and to open an
investigation into "the harms my family and I suffered through illegal
treatment for years in Shandong," Chen Guangcheng said.
His arrival in the United
States on May 19 -- along with his wife and children -- brought an end
to a diplomatic firestorm between Beijing and Washington that erupted
after he fled from house arrest in Linyi in late April and hid inside
the U.S. Embassy in Beijing for a week.
In a video posted online
after his escape, Chen addressed Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, detailing
grotesque abuses -- including repeated beatings -- he said he and his
family had suffered at the hands of local authorities during captivity.
In the interview Friday, Chen Guangcheng said China has no choice but to change, but he was skeptical.
"Based on the
information I have now, especially in light of Chen Kegui's case, I
think the new leadership offers no reason for people to put any faith in
them," said the activist, who is studying law at New York University.
Amnesty International called the conviction of Chen Kegui "appalling" and retribution for his uncle's escape.
"Amnesty advocates
worked with Chen -- a true hero -- in his fight to win rights for
China's poor and women and to demand his freedom when it was denied.
Now, we will keep this fight going to demand Chen Kegui's freedom."
Suzanne Nossel, executive director, Amnesty International USA, said in a
statement.
Nicholas Bequelin, a
Hong Kong-based senior Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said on
his Twitter account that "Chen Kegui's trial failed to meet minimum
standards of fair trial under domestic or international standards."
Chen Guangfu said his
son has told him that he's "in good shape." He said the family was
notified of his son's trial only 15 minutes before it began.
The sudden trial Friday
also came as a surprise to Chen Kegui's lawyers, who said they became
aware that it was happening only when they received calls about it from
the news media, said Ding Xikui, one of the lawyers.
Chen Kegui was instead
represented by a lawyer designated by the court, according to an
official in the court's research office who gave his name only as Li.
His father gave a slightly different account.
According to him, local
authorities had promised the family that it was free to hire lawyers for
Chen Kegui. But when the family came up with the lawyers, his father
said, the local court turned them down and designated two lawyers, Song
Kuiyuan and Wang Haijun, to take over the case.
Chen Guangfu, the
activist's older brother, said last month that he hadn't been allowed to
see his incarcerated son since his arrest.
"There has never been
any fairness in this case -- they ignored the facts and refused to let
us appoint lawyers for Kegui in accordance with law," he said then. "The
whole thing is their revenge against Guangcheng's escape, so I don't
have any hope for a fair trial."
CNN's Dayu Zhang and journalist Connie Young in Beijing contributed to this report.
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