April 28, 2012
A blind Chinese human rights activist who was being imprisoned and tortured in his own home has reportedly escaped, according to OneNewsNow.com. Attorney Chen Guangcheng, who was jailed and tortured for more than four years for fighting against China's one-child policy and exposing more than 100,000 forced abortions, had been released from prison to his home -- but police turned that into a prison for him, his wife and two children, where they continued to torture the couple. Chen's whereabouts are not known at this time, but Ann Buwalda of the Jubilee Campaign said there were indications he was in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. "If it is true, that's great -- and we need to hope and pray that our U.S. government forces take action to protect him and don't turn him back over to the Chinese secret police," Buwalda said. "If it's not true, then we definitely need to be praying for his ongoing safety." There are also reports that two of Chen's relatives have been arrested, and there are concerns over a lack of information regarding the whereabouts of his wife and children. Several organizations on the ground continue to monitor the situation.
