China police blocks birthday visit to blind lawyer

China police blocks birthday visit to blind lawyer - More than 40 people who travelled hundreds of kilometres to visit blind Chinese lawyer-activist Chen Guangcheng amid a push to free him from house arrest were sent back by police, supporters said on Sunday. Chen is renowned for revealing forced sterilisations and late-term abortions affecting thousands of women in the eastern province of Shandong as part of measures to enforce China's population control policy.

The 44 supporters - who come from all over the country but now live in Beijing to petition authorities for various grievances - hired a bus and drove to Shandong on Saturday to see Chen on his 40th birthday.

They were blocked by police before they could get to his village and 13 were briefly detained before the entire group was driven back in a police convoy more than 500km (310 miles) to the northern city of Tianjin, near Beijing.

via: ST