Chen Guangcheng (The EpochTimes)
According to China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group (CHRLCG), a non profit organization based in Hong Kong, the prison did not provide Chen with medical treatment, which is against the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
On September 17, CHRLCG publicized a letter from Chen’s wife, Yuan Weijing. In the letter, Yuan states that Chen has been ill in the past year. His family has applied for bail for medical treatment many times but all requests were denied.
Yuan said that for nine months Chen has been afflicted with frequent bloody diarrhea. His symptoms appeared to have had some improvement in April this year but the prison has consistently refused to provide medical check-ups and treatment.
Chen is from Linyi city in Shandong province. He was born blind. He taught himself law and has been a strong advocate for the rights of disabled people and those who were forced by local communist party authorities to have abortions or sterilization. The villagers call him the "barefoot lawyer."
However, his actions angered local communist party authorities. In August 2006, communist officials in Linyi sentenced Chen to four year and three months in prison for the crimes of 'assembling a crowd and disrupting traffic control' and 'damaging public property.'
Patrick Poon, Executive Secretary of CHRLCG, told the Voice Of America (VOA) that publicizing Yuan’s letter is for the public to understand the current situation of human rights lawyers in China. He hopes that the pressure will force the Chinese regime to provide Chen with reasonable humane treatments.
According to Poon, CHRLCG considers that the Linyi communist authorities have violated the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that China endorsed last August. "According to the Convention, when persons with disabilities lose freedom, they should be allowed reasonable requests based on their human rights. Chen has had frequent diarrhea for nine months during his prison time. This indicates that the prison has violated the Convention,” said Poon.
Poon also said that CHRLCG and Chen’s family suspect that there are problems in the food the prison gives Chen. “It’s possible that the Linyi authorities took vengeance on Chen,” he commented.
In the past several years, Chen was frequently denied reading material, receiving letters, and family visits. Yuan has seen her husband once since December 2008.
After Chen was imprisoned, he has been treated violently and so was Yuan when she advocated for her husband’s rights. Currently Yuan is under close surveillance around the clock. According to Poon, the communist authorities’ actions toward Chen and Yuan have violated China's own laws.
Yuan also mentioned in the letter that their two children are having a difficult time receiving proper education because of their family's current situation.
Read the original Chinese article
