One is the Loneliest Number

Charles Oliver | August 31, 2006

A Chinese court has sentenced a blind civil rights activist to more than four years in prison. Chen Guangcheng was convicted of damaging property and "organizing a mob to disturb traffic." But his supporters say his real crime was documenting tens of thousands of forced sterilizations and late-term abortions performed to enforce China's one-child policy. Chen's lawyer was detained by authorities before the trial on theft allegations and was released after it was over without charge. Chen was represented during the two-hour trial by two court-appointed attorneys he met only when the trial opened.