Nephew of Blind Chinese Activist Denied Medical Parole

Chinese authorities are reported to have denied medical parole for the jailed nephew of human rights activist Chen Guangcheng.

The father of Chen Kegui says his son is in desperate need of outside medical treatment for his acute appendicitis, which he says has become life-threatening and is causing severe pain.

The father, Chen Guangfu, said Tuesday he was told by prison officials that his son's application for medical parole was denied, and that the prison would treat him on its own.

Chen Kegui was sentenced to over three years in prison after fighting with officials who burst into his house looking for his uncle, the blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, who had escaped house arrest and fled to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Before his daring escape, Chen Guangcheng was imprisoned for four years and later placed under house arrest after leading a campaign for the rights of the disabled and against forced abortions in China.

The 41-year-old, who is now in the United States with his family, says government officials have carried out a revenge campaign to punish his family for the high-profile escape.

Another instance of such alleged abuse was reported Tuesday by the U.S.-based group ChinaAid, which said government-hired thugs threw bricks and beer bottles at the home of Chen Guangfu. 

Earlier this year, activists reported that dead chickens were thrown into the family's yard, while posters appeared on nearby streets referring to the family as "traitors."

The family says the conviction of the nephew, Chen Kegui, was motivated by Chen's escape. They say that he was acting in self-defense when officials burst into his home. He later reported being beaten and mistreated by police.

Human Rights Watch called the trial of Chen Kegui "hasty and unfair," saying it "bore the same disturbing hallmarks as Chen Guangcheng's persecution - incommunicado detention, denial of lawyers of his choice, and a politicized and closed trial."