Blind dissident Chen Guangcheng's brother loses court case

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/02/blind-dissident-chen-guangcheng-brother

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The eldest brother of the blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has said a Chinese court had thrown out his lawsuit filed against local police and officials for unlawfully barging into his house after his brother's escape.<br /> <br />The rejection of Chen Guangfu's case on Thursday was an expected outcome but underscores the continued pressure on Chen Guangcheng's family in north-eastern Shandong province, about five months after Chen Guangcheng left for the United States to study.<br /> <br />Chen Guangfu said he would appeal and although his legal fight is likely to fail it could renew international focus on China's human rights and legal system and encourage lawyers and rights advocates pushing for the rule of law in China.<br /> <br />Chinese courts rarely accept lawsuits filed by dissidents or their relatives, and if they do they invariably find for the government.

The Yinan county people's court rejected Chen Guangfu's lawsuit on the grounds that he did not provide "any corresponding evidence" and therefore he "cannot prove that his claims are based in reality", Chen Guangfu said by telephone from his village of Dongshigu.<br /> <br />Court officials could not be reached for comment. 

Chen Guangfu is trying to sue police and local government officials who oversee his village for "scaling the walls of his home and for wrecking his home" just after midnight on 27 April, the day after they discovered his brother had escaped.<br /> <br />"This outcome was expected; it's just one of their rogue tactics," said Chen Guangfu, 55. "How can they say the evidence doesn't correspond with reality? Kegui is still in their hands."<br /> <br />Chen Guangfu's son, Chen Kegui, has been charged with intentional wounding after he took a kitchen knife and slashed three officials who had barged into Chen Guangfu's home and beat up family members of Chen Guangcheng. Chen Kegui's lawyers have been repeatedly denied access to him.<br /> <br />After breaking free from 19 months of house imprisonment in April, Chen Guangcheng sought refuge in the US embassy in Beijing, embarrassing the Chinese authorities and sparking a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Washington. He is now studying law in New York.