Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng’s eldest brother said Wednesday he would take the police and the local government of his village to court for unlawfully raiding his house after the blind activist escaped, a move that could place China’s rule of law under scrutiny once again.
Cheng Guangfu managed to get past security blocking his village and made his way to Beijing where his son had been detained by the police. He accused authorities of “scaling the walls of his home and for wrecking his home” just after midnight on April 27, according to Reuters. It was the same day Chen Guangcheng managed to escape from house arrest. The older Chen, 55, claimed the actions by the police and officials were “illegal”.
The police in Yinan county could not be reached for comment while the Shuanghou township government claimed they were unaware of such lawsuit, according to an official there.
Chen Guangcheng told a hearing in May that his family was beaten by local government “thugs” who barged in to his brother’s house. His nephew, Chen Kugui, slashed three officials with a kitchen knife and was charged with “intentional homicide” in what the dissident says he expects will be an unfair trial.
Chen Guangcheng sought refuge in the US embassy after accusing the Chinese government of threatening his family, causing a diplomatic rift between the two countries. He was granted a student visa and is currently studying law in New York.
