Chen Guangfu, brother of Chen Guangcheng, escapes in China
Blind activist Chen Guangcheng with his wife and son outside the home in northeast China’s Shandong province, March 28, 2005.
Chen Guangfu, the brother of the famous blind dissident who escaped to an American embassy last month, has now made his own escape. Chen escaped his guarded village and fled to Beijing, the New York Times reported today. He said he fled his village to help his son, who was detained after police officers broke into the family home while searching for blind dissident Chen Guangcheng.
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The blind dissident arrived in the US last week. But activists fear for the safety of his family members who remain in China. After the dissident's escape, his family has been under tight guard in the Dongshigu village, the Guardian reported.
Chen Guangfu walked out of the village at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning. He eluded security by avoiding roads and running in the fields, Reuters reported. After a six-hour car journey, he finally arrived in Beijing. He is now seeking help from lawyers for his son, who faces an attempted murder charge.
He said that authorities threatened to increase his son's sentence if he spoke to the media, but Chen defied the ban in a recent interview after his escape. "I have the power to speak up," he told Reuters.