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Chen Kegui, Nephew of Chen Guangcheng, Sentenced to 39 Months in Prison After “Judicial Farce”

Date: 2012-11-29

Chen Kegui, the nephew of blind self-taught legal activist Chen Guangcheng, has been sentenced to 39 months in prison for “intentional wounding” after a rushed trial convened with only a few hours’ notice to family members, according to reports. Chen Kegui’s imprisonment is widely seen as retaliation by local officials following Chen Guangcheng’s dramatic escape from extra-judicial house arrest earlier this year. 
Defense lawyers chosen by Chen Kegui and his family to represent him had previously been denied entry to the case and were not present at trial. Moreover, although Chen Kegui’s parents arrived on time to attend the trial, they were denied entry and prevented from giving testimony, despite having witnessed first-hand the altercation leading to Chen Kegui’s arrest. In a statement calling the trial a “judicial farce,” Professor Jerome A. Cohen said the proceedings were “held in ways guaranteed to prevent any possible defense or any possible observer to attend,” adding that Chen Kegui was given no opportunity to appeal.

Chen Kegui, the nephew of blind self-taught legal activist Chen Guangcheng, has been sentenced to 39 months in prison for “intentional wounding” after a rushed trial convened with only a few hours’ notice to family members, according to reports. Chen Kegui’s imprisonment is widely seen as retaliation by local officials following Chen Guangcheng’s dramatic escape from extra-judicial house arrest earlier this year. For more on Chen Guangcheng and his advocacy, click here.

Defense lawyers chosen by Chen Kegui and his family to represent him had previously been denied entry to the case and were not present at trial. Moreover, although Chen Kegui’s parents arrived on time to attend the trial, they were denied entry and prevented from giving testimony, despite having witnessed first-hand the altercation leading to Chen Kegui’s arrest. In a statement calling the trial a “judicial farce,” Professor Jerome A. Cohen said the proceedings were “held in ways guaranteed to prevent any possible defense or any possible observer to attend,” adding that Chen Kegui was given no opportunity to appeal. Professor Cohen’s statement is available in its entirety below.

Chen Kegui was initially taken into custody in April 2012 following an altercation with officials who broke into his home in the days following Chen Guangcheng’s dramatic escape from extra-judicial house arrest. Chen Kegui was subsequently held incommunicado by the Yinan County Public Security Bureau of Linyi City, Shandong Province, for over five months.

The Committee to Support Chinese Layers is deeply concerned by the blatant disregard of even minimum international standards for due process throughout the detention and trial of Chen Kegui, including his right to the assistance of a lawyer of his choice to protect and establish his rights and to defend them in all stages of criminal proceedings. The Committee is also troubled by Chen Kegui’s inability to appeal his sentence. Moreover, the Committee is concerned about the ongoing treatment of Chen Kegui, who his representatives have reason to believe was tortured during his incommunicado detention.

The Committee calls upon Chinese authorities to guarantee the safety of Chen Kegui, his family, and his lawyers, and to allow him the opportunity to appeal his sentence in proceedings that satisfy at least minimum international standards for due process, including adequate opportunities, time, and facilities to be visited by and to communicate and consult with lawyers appointed by his family, without delay, interception, or censorship, and in full confidentiality.

Professor Jerome A. Cohen issued the following statement on November 30, 2012:

YINAN COUNTY IS “NEVER, NEVER LAND.” AFTER A QUICK AFTERNOON TRIAL CHEN KEGUI HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF “INTENTIONAL WOUNDING”. HIS FATHER AND MOTHER ARRIVED AT THE COURT IN TIME TO ATTEND THE TRIAL BUT WERE EXCLUDED IN ‘ALICE IN WONDERLAND’ FASHION, THE FATHER ON THE GROUND THAT HE WAS A WITNESS TO THE EVENTS AND THEREFORE WAS NOT PERMITTED BY LAW TO ATTEND THE TRIAL, EVEN THOUGH IN FACT HE WAS NOT PERMITTED TO TESTIFY! THIS IS A TOTAL DISTORTION OF EXISTING LAW. MOTHER WAS EXCLUDED BECAUSE SHE SUPPOSEDLY TOOK PART IN THE INCIDENT AND IS A SUSPECT AND THEREFORE SUPPOSEDLY NOT ALLOWED TO ATTEND. SO THE TWO PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE TESTIFIED IN THE DEFENDANT’S BEHALF SINCE THEY HAD PERSONAL, FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT TOOK PLACE WERE CAREFULLY PREVENTED FROM RECITING THE FACTS. COURT OFFICIAL CLAIMED THIS WAS A PUBLIC TRIAL OPEN TO JOURNALISTS. KEGUI HAS APPARENTLY BEEN COERCED INTO NOT APPEALING HIS CONVICTION. THIS IS THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLE OF JUDICIAL FARCE IN CHINA, NOT A HAPPY EXAMPLE OF HOW HUMAN RIGHTS WILL BE PROTECTED BY CHINA’S NEW LEADERSHIP! THE “TRIAL” WAS HELD IN WAYS GUARANTEED TO PREVENT ANY POSSIBLE DEFENSE OR ANY POSSIBLE OBSERVER TO ATTEND. DEFENDANT WAS DENIED HIS OWN LAWYERS, NO WITNESSES WERE ALLOWED IN HIS DEFENSE, NO FAMILY PERMITTED TO ATTEND AND, ALTHOUGH OSTENSIBLY “OPEN” TO ALL INCLUDING JOURNALISTS, HELD IN CIRCUMSTANCES THAT ASSURED NO NEUTRAL JOURNALISTS COULD ATTEND. MOREOVER, NO OPPORTUNITY FOR DEFENDANT TO EXERCISE HIS RIGHT TO APPEAL. THIS IS WORSE THAN EVEN THE TRIAL OF CHEN GUANGCHENG HIMSELF IN 2006. INDEED, THE STAGE MANAGERS HAVE LEARNED FROM THEIR DIFFICULTIES IN CONVICTING CGC IN 2006. SARCASTICALLY, ONE CAN CONCLUDE THAT CHINA IS DEVELOPING ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM CASE BY CASE DESPITE THE FORTHCOMING IMPROVED CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW!! WHAT KIND OF JUSTICE CAN BO XILAI EXPECT? AN IMPROVED VERSION OF THE GU KAILAI PROCEDURE?