Local authorities from China's Shandong province on Tuesday detained a Chinese advocate who is seeking to bring a lawsuit for human rights abuses associated with the country's one-child-per-family policy, the Washington Post reports. Officials detained Chen Guangcheng in an apparent effort to prevent him from meeting with senior government officials who had expressed support for his cause, according to the Post (Pan, Washington Post, 9/7). Chen, who is 34 years old and blind, has recorded testimony from men and women in communities in and around Linyi, China -- a city of about 10 million people in the Shandong province -- who have experienced forced abortions and sterilizations, as well as had family members captured and tortured after they tried to hide or run from authorities. Chen had plans to bring a class-action lawsuit to challenge the government's use of coercive measures to enforce its policy, which has long been restricted from public debate. "What these officials are doing is completely illegal," Chen previously said, adding, "They've committed widespread violations of citizens' basic rights, and they should be held responsible" (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 8/30). Chen was detained in Beijing by several Shandong police. In the days before his arrest, Chen met with journalists, diplomats from the U.S. Embassy and attorneys who have volunteered to represent him. Chen had said he was considering meeting with National Population and Family Planning Commission officials but had concerns about being arrested, according to the Post.

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Jerome Cohen, a specialist on Chinese law at New York University who is teaching in Beijing this fall, said he met with Chen on Monday night and he was determined to move forward with the lawsuit. "This seems to be a case of local officials who have blatantly abused their legal powers and have no legitimate defense against the case he brought against them, resorting to extralegal methods to cut off his ability to pursue justice," Cohen said, adding, "It's very, very sad and another example of how rough the legal situation is in rural areas." Li Heping, an attorney working with Chen, said, "We feel this is extremely inappropriate," adding that Linyi officials appeared to be "taking revenge on him for trying to protect the rights of local citizens and exercising his right to criticize the government." An official with the National Population and Family Planning Commission said it is unaware of Chen's detention and would try to contact Shandong authorities to determine what had occurred. A Shandong public security bureau spokesperson said he knew nothing about Chen's detention and declined to accept questions about the case, according to the Post (Washington Post, 9/7).