Updated 16:40: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Chen Guancheng, a reknowned blind Chinese human rights activist who had escaped house arrest on 24 April is in the US embassy in Beijing, according to a friend and fellow dissident, Hu Jia.
Hu, who had been detained over the weekend in relation to the escape, told AFP that his interrogators had suggested that Chen had met with US Ambassador Gary Locke. He was asked when had Chen met with the ambassador. “So it seems very clear that he has met with the American ambassador”, Hu said. “I had no way of answering. I do not know what is going on inside”.
Hu had met with Chen following his escape.
There has been much speculation about Chen’s whereabouts since his escape. The United States has not commented till now on Chen’s location. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are scheduled to arrive in Beijing for an annual round of talks with the Chinese government.
A video was released last week following the escape by a US-based Chinese dissident group, Boxun.com, in which Chen addressed Premier Wen Jiabao. He requested that local officials allegedly involved in the beatings of his family members be investigated and prosecuted and that the safety of his family members be assured. He also asked Wen to address and punish those involved in corruption in China.
Chen, known as the “barefoot lawyer” had been in house detention since he was released in 2010 following a four-year jail term. He has been blind since childhood.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Russia and the US are close to signing a new treaty to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which expires Saturday 5 December, Russian news agency Ria Novosti reports late Friday, although it is unlikely the pact will be signed before the end of the year. The agency sites Russian military sources and says the two sides will meet again Saturday in Geneva. According to Ria Novosti, “The chief of the Russian General Staff said earlier that the ongoing talks had run into disagreements on inspection and verification procedures.”
