Wife of Jailed Human Rights Defender Barred from Seeking Medical Treatment
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(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, October 29, 2007)— Yuan Weijing (袁伟静), wife of the jailed human rights defender, Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚), was prevented from seeking medical treatment and roughly handled by policemen from the local Public Security Bureau this morning in Yinan County, Shandong Province.
According to Ms. Yuan, who later called the Beijing-based activist Hu Jia, she had tried to get dental treatment in early October, but she was stopped from leaving the village by local police. She has suffered from severe toothache which makes her cheek swollen and eating difficult. This morning, she could not bear the pain and decided to go to see a dentist in Linyi City. While Yuan was on her way to Linyi, Yinan County, the six policemen who have been monitoring her prevented her from boarding the bus. She then tried to walk and was violently pulled back by the six men, who also grabbed her shoulders and pushed her. She struggled to get away while holding her 3-year-old daughter.
After the incident, Yuan called to complain to various Public Security Bureaus in Yinan County, but none of the bureaus was willing to respond.
Her husband Chen Guangcheng was imprisoned for exposing extensive violence in the implementation of the government’s population policy in Linyi. Since Chen’s house arrest in August 2005, Yuan has been closely monitored, and her freedom has been restricted by local police without any legal authorization. On August 24, 2007, she was intercepted at the Beijing international airport and prevented from leaving for the Philippines to receive the prestigious Magsaysay Award on behalf of her husband. She was forcibly sent back to her village in Shandong Province. Since her return, not only have the authorities prevented her from leaving the villager, they have also barred her from visiting Chen in jail.
Click Chen Guangcheng for more information.
Also see “Police bar wife of imprisoned rights defender from leaving China to collect award” /Article/Class9/Class15/200708/20070827131219_5453.html
