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CHEN GUANGCHENG�S NEPHEW CHARGED WITH �INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE,� COULD FACE DEATH SENTENCE

Dan Wooding — Sat, 12 May 2012 10:12:00 EST

YINAN, SHANDONG, CHINA -  ChinaAid has just told the ASSIST News Service that it has just learned that the nephew of blind, self-taught lawyer Chen Guangcheng has been formally arrested and charged with �intentional homicide,� a crime that carries the death sentence.

The formal arrest of Chen�s nephew Chen Kegui took place on Wednesday, May 9, 2012, and the formal arrest notification with the charge of �intentional homicide� was given to Chen Kegui�s mother, Ren Zongju on Thursday May 10. They were executed by the Yinan County People�s Procuratorate and the Yinan Public Security Bureau.

�This is outrageous, it is totally unreasonable,� the blind activist told AFP by phone from the Beijing hospital where he is being treated for injuries sustained during the escape.

UK GOVERNMENT FUNDS FORCED STERILIZATIONS IN INDIA

No Author — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:46:00 EST

By Wendy Wright

NEW YORK, NY (C-FAM) - The British government gave $268 million to the government of India for a program that forcibly sterilizes poor women and men, according to the Guardian newspaper. This news comes as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation prepares to co-host a family planning summit with the British government in London this July.

Melinda Gates recently dismissed the link between contraception programs and population control in a speech launching her new initiative. Titled �No Controversy,� her campaign intends to �change the global conversation around family planning� by discounting its association with abortion, coercion and immorality, and focusing on universal access.

Around the same time, India�s supreme court heard evidence of coercive mass sterilizations in filthy conditions.

KUWAITIS FACE DEATH FOR INSULTING ISLAM UNDER NEW LAW

No Author — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:19:00 EST

KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT -  Kuwait's parliament approved the death sentence for Muslims who insult Allah, the Qu�ran, Muslim prophets, or Muhammad�s wives on Thursday. Christians and other non-Muslim minorities will be given a minimum prison sentence of ten years for the same offense.

Forty members of parliament voted in favor of the amendment, while six opposed it, in the second and final round of voting on May 3. The bill still needs approval by Kuwait's ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, before becoming law.

PASTOR YOUCEF�S CASE ASSIGNED TO IRAN�S �JUDGE OF DEATH�

Ethan Edwards — Tue, 08 May 2012 08:50:00 EST

Youcef without legal representation

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been in prison now for three years, convicted of apostasy and sentenced to hang. He awaits execution and is without legal representation. Now we learn that Youcef is facing a judge who is known in Iran as the �Judge of Death.�

Youcef is without representation because his attorney Mohammad Ali Dadkhah has been sentenced to prison for nine years for defending Pastor Youcef. Iran convicted Dadkhah of acting against Iranian national security and spreading propaganda against the regime. Dadkhah is on his way to one of the most dangerous prisons in Iran.

TERROR WARNING: UN WARNS MEMBER NATIONS OF TERRORIST, WMD ATTACKS

Jim Kouri — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:33:00 EST

On Friday, the United Nations Security Council issued a statement voicing concerns over the threat posed by terrorists one year after the killing of radical Islamic icon, Osama bin Laden, and the risk that groups such as al-Qaeda could pose to nations such as the United States and members of the European Union with weapons of mass destruction.

As part of its mandate to create stable and secure environments UN Police are working with international policing and law enforcement experts to find ways to prevent, disrupt and dismantle organized crime in post-conflict situations, according to Security Council officials. The UN Police assist domestic law enforcement authorities to establish mechanisms to deal with organized criminal activities, including drug production and trafficking, human trafficking, exploitation of natural resources and weapons trafficking.

'The Security Council remains gravely concerned about the threat of terrorism and the risk that non-state actors may acquire, develop, traffic in or use weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery,' said the UN statement.

FRANCE GOES ALL-IN SOCIALIST, GREEKS ABANDON ALL ECONOMIC SANITY

Ethan Edwards — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:52:00 EST

The Euro hits a three-month low, Germany�s DAX down 8%, France falls 3%, analysts warn the Euro may be gone within months

France�s President Sarkozy is out and Socialism is in. In Greece, voters voted to stop spending cuts and to go back to the old system that bankrupted that nation. The result was an immediate impact on the stock markets in France and Germany and on the value of the Euro. Europe, which had been on the financial brink, may have just been pushed over the edge of an abyss by its own people. Will the U.S. follow?

These are all extremely troubling developments from the continent that gave us World War I, World War II, the Holocaust and Adolph Hitler.

CHEN GUANGCHENG�S RESCUER RELEASED FROM DETENTION

No Author — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:13:00 EST

He Peirong, known as Pearl, has been released from detention and has been interviewed by the BBC. Pearl has become known as the rescuer of blind activist Chen Guangcheng, having driven the car that brought him from Dongshigu village to Beijing.

Reggie Littlejohn, President of Women�s Rights Without Frontiers, has been advocating for Pearl�s release. Littlejohn testified about Pearl at a hearing before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China yesterday, and Rep. Chris Smith took up Pearl�s cause. Littlejohn stated, �I am relieved and delighted that Pearl has been released � the day after the Congressional hearing at which her case was so strongly raised. Some say that quiet, back door diplomacy is the way to deal with the detention of Chinese human rights defenders. But human rights activists have found that high profile, public pressure is far more effective.�

CHINAAID: CHEN CRISIS AVERTED FOR THE MOMENT, FAMILY AND SUPPORTERS REMAIN IN DANGER

No Author — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:05:00 EST

MIDLAND, TX � Secretary Clinton announced today an agreement that allows Chen Guangcheng and his family to come to the U.S. Chen will reportedly accept a fellowship to New York University Law School. US officials stated they were working to expedite Chen's departure, probably in the next few days.

'This announcement is important and reflect's Chen's wishes. We commend Secretary Hillary Clinton and US Ambassador Gary Locke for working on this after the initial deal fell apart,' said Bob Fu, ChinAid President. 'But it was the media who made this story a global phenomena, along with brave Chinese rights defenders, they kept the pressure on and it led to a good result. Chen is so widely popular now, Beijing probably wants him in New York as soon as possible.'

LATIN AMERICA A TERRORIST RECRUITMENT BONANZA FOR IRAN, HEZBOLLAH, WARN ISRAELIS

Jim Kouri — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:18:00 EST

While President Barack Obama participated in last month's Summit of the Americas in Colombia, none of the nations' leaders even hinted about the influx of officials from Iran and their proxy warriors in the terrorist group Hezbollah. However, this week Israeli intelligence analysts are warning the United States government that Western Hemisphere countries are hosting members of the radical Islamist movement.

Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran in August 2005, Iran has extended and solidified its relations with several Latin American countries, especially Venezuela and Bolivia, both run by far-left leaders, according to an anonymous Israeli police source. With the help of proxy groups, Iran has increased its efforts to obtain a political foothold in the others this week, according to a terrorism analyst in Israel, who is a former U.S. police sergeant.

BLIND ACTIVIST CHEN GUANGCHENG SPEAKS TO U.S. CONGRESSIONAL HEARING

No Author — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:46:00 EST

Chen Asks Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Visit Him, Bob Fu�s Testimony attached

WASHINGTON, DC� In a dramatic twist, the blind Chinese activist and lawyer Chen Guangcheng who has captured the headlines in the past week spoke by telephone directly to a Congressional hearing on his plight and asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to visit him while she is in Beijing for high-level bilateral talks.

Bob Fu called Chen Guangcheng through cell phone with Chairman Smith and Congressman Wolf during the hearing.

The impromptu phone conversation between Chen and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China was initiated by ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu, who has been a long-standing champion of Chen and who has been in regular contact with him and his supporters since Chen managed to escape his captors who have held him in extra-judicial house arrest since October 2010.

CHINESE ACTIVIST LAWYER CHEN GUANGCHENG PHONES US CONGRESS FOR HELP

Michael Ireland — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:21:00 EST

WASHINGTON, DC - Following dramatic confusion over his wishes regarding staying in China or seeking asylum in the United States, Chinese human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng has telephoned a US Congressional hearing to plead for help in his attempts to leave China with his family.

Chen said he feared for the safety of his family and wanted to meet visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton face-to-face, according to a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) online report.

Chen is still in a Beijing hospital sealed off by Chinese police, following a week spent at the US embassy which he left after initially accepting China's assurances of his safety.

ISRAEL CALLS UP RESERVES, FORTIFIES BORDERS

Ethan Edwards — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:05:00 EST

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - The Israeli army has called up reservists as part of an emergency mobilization to fortify its borders. Israeli officials say that this move is made in response to recent terrorist attacks from Palestinians.

'The wave of terror that has swept Israel recently...requires a deep and thorough army operation against terrorist infrastructure in Palestinian cities,' Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said in a statement.

The Israeli government said that it will seize and hold Palestinian areas for �as long as the terror continues.�

ZENG JINYAN: CHEN GUANGCHENG TALKED TO ME. MEDIA IS WRONG

Ethan Edwards — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:15:00 EST

BEIJING, CHINA - About 8 pm Beijing time, Zeng Jinyan, wife of Chen�s best friend Hu Jia, posted a tweet which indicates that the media failed to report the correct information about Chen Guangcheng�s updates. Chen did not leave the U.S. Embassy of his own accord. Some sources inside China said the U.S. and Chinese governments have reached some kind of �shameful� agreement regarding Chen.

Later Zen Jinyan said on Twitter: Guangcheng called me and told me that he didn�t say, according to media, �I want to kiss you� to Secretary Clinton. What he actually said was �I want to see you.�

Here is additional information from Zeng Jinyan�s tweets:

CHEN AGREED TO TERMS AFTER CHINA THREATENED TO KILL HIS WIFE

Ethan Edwards — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:57:00 EST

Chen only agreed to remain in China after Chinese government threatened to 'beat his wife to death.'

The Associated Press is now reporting that a close friend of blind Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng says Chen only agreed to remain in China after the Chinese government threatened Chen's wife.

Zeng Jinyan, a Beijing-based activist, told the AP via Skype on Wednesday that Chinese government officials forced Chen to choose between going into exile alone or staying in China with his family. Jinyan said that the Chinese officials told Chen if he left China his wife would be 'beaten to death.'

CHEN GUANGCHENG LEAVES U.S EMBASSY TO SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT

Ethan Edwards — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:02:00 EST

Safety promised by China, Conflicting reports about Chen's willingness to leave U.S. Embassy

BEIJING, CHINA � Blind Human Rights activist Ghen Guangcheng whose escape from house arrest in Communist China has become worldwide news (and is detailed HERE) has now left the U.S. Embassy in Beijing where he has been hiding.

The Chinese government has assured U.S. officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke that Chen will be treated humanely while he seeks medical attention for the years of abuse and torture at the hands of the Chinese government.

This is the political equivalent of an habitual wife beater saying, 'Come home, baby and I won't punch you again.'

CHEN GUANGCHENG�S RESCUER NEEDS TO BE RESCUED: HE PEIRONG

Reggie Littlejohn — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:18:00 EST

He Peirong is a petite woman with a spine of steel. I know her because she spearheaded the movement to free Chen Guangcheng inside China, while I have played a similar role in the U.S. and Europe. That�s where the similarity ends. I have advocated for Chen in complete safety. Peirong, however, has been beaten and detained repeatedly for this extremely dangerous undertaking. Now, she is detained again, for rescuing Chen.

How did Chen escape? The Chinese Communist Party clamped down on him as hard as it could. His house was surrounded by 66 guards working in three shifts � 22 guards every eight hours. His village was sealed off by yet more guards. His phone, computer and television were confiscated. He was completely shut off from the outside world. Plus he was sick and injured from all the beatings.

CHEN GUANGCHENG: AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA, SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON AND AMBASSADOR LOCKE:

Reggie Littlejohn — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:09:00 EST

The entire world is watching. Will you offer official protection to Chen, his family, and his key supporters who are now detained? Or will you continue to kowtow to the Chinese Communist Party for our economic advantage? Inescapably, the choice you make will symbolize the character of our nation to the world.

Women�s Rights Without Frontiers calls upon you to use all diplomatic means to ensure safety for Chen Guangcheng, his family, and his key supporters who are currently detained, especially He Peirong, who rescued Chen and is a hero in her own right.

We also ask that you press for Chen�s requests that those who have been torturing and persecuting his family be brought to justice, and that corrupt officials who have received money for persecuting Chen be investigated and punished.

ACLJ URGES U.S. SENATE TO ACT FOR PASTOR YOUCEF

Ethan Edwards — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:36:00 EST

Confirmation that Youcef was still alive on April 25^th, 2012

Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, is urging people everywhere to stand in support of imprisoned Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. Pastor Youcef is in prison in Iran and has been sentenced to hang. His crime is simply that he is a follower of Jesus Christ.

Sekulow writes in an email to supporters, �When Iranian officials demanded that Pastor Youcef recant his faith in Jesus Christ or die, he responded, �I cannot.� For his faith, he has been sentenced to death and illegally imprisoned � separated from his wife and two young sons for nearly three years.�

�We cannot allow his imprisonment to continue,� Sekulow said.

READ CHEN GUANGCHENG�S FIELD NOTES ABOUT FORCED ABORTION AND STERILIZATION IN CHINA

Reggie Littlejohn — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:38:00 EST

In the astonishment surrounding Chen Guangcheng�s extraordinary escape from house arrest, let us not forget why he was arrested: in 2006 Chen exposed the Chinese government�s systematic, massive use of forced abortion and involuntary sterilization to enforce its �One Child Policy.� WRWF obtained a copy of Chen�s field notes and we released the first English translation of these notes at a Congressional Hearing on December 6, 2011.

You can read The Chen Guangcheng Report here. http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/?nav=congressional_hearing_2011

A member of Chen�s team, human rights attorney Teng Biao, drafted this 2005 investigative report into coercive family planning in Linyi City, Shandong Province. The report contains extensive witness statements from cases Chen and his team were investigating before Chen was jailed. In the report are detailed accounts regarding:

CHEN ESCAPES BRUTAL TREATMENT, FAMILY AT GREAT RISK

Ethan Edwards — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:49:00 EST

Is the U.S. helping? How many more women will face forced abortion?

Chen Guangcheng is a blind, outspoken human rights activist who has stood up against the inhumane regime in communist China. Specifically Chen has spoken out boldly against China�s One Child policy and the resultant forced abortions that have robbed hundreds of thousands of women of their dignity, freedom, control over their own bodies, and more importantly of their unborn babies.

Chen has been beaten, tortured, imprisoned and watched constantly by government forces because of his efforts and his brash audacity to speak out and say the Chinese government is wrong. Chen and his family have most recently been held under house arrest, with all of their daily movements monitored and dictated by the government.

CHEN GUANCHENG 100% SAFE IN BEIJING AFTER ESCAPE

No Author — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:25:00 EST

Chen vows to fight to �the end for freedom�; Accomplice, relatives arrested

BEIJING, CHINA � ChinaAid Association -Blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng, who escaped earlier this week from his home where he had been held under harsh and violent house arrest conditions since his Sept. 2010 release from prison, is 100% safe in Beijing, ChinaAid learned on Friday.

ChinaAid�s founder and president Bob Fu was in touch with Chen�s friends and family and was told by a source who brought Chen to Beijing that he is not in any danger and is �100% safe.� There is speculation that Chen is in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

NUMBER OF MEXICANS ENTERING U.S. NOW EQUALS NUMBER LEAVING U.S.

No Author — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:39:00 EST

Now Mexico has a better economy than the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that �Net migration from Mexico has plummeted to zero thanks to changing demographic and economic conditions on both sides of the border.� The study that came up with the numbers is the non-partisan Pew Hispanic Center.

Several factors are at work as to why four decades of Mexican migration that brought 12 million people to the U.S., over 6 million of which were illegal, has come to an abrupt end. Mexico has a better economy than the U.S.

SALAFIST JIHADISTS SEEKING MORE POWER IN EGYPT AND GAZA

Jim Kouri — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 06:01:00 EST

'Salafist jihadism combines a deep respect for the sacred texts with a devotion to a literal interpretation. Salifists have an absolute commitment to jihad, and their number-one target is America, perceived as the greatest enemy of their faith,' according to counterterrorism expert Neal Ahearn, a former police commander of an anti-terrorism unit.

An Egyptian court in Cairo on Thursday officially announced their decision that the mother of a radical Muslim -- viewed as one of the strongest contenders for election as Egypt's president -- is not a U.S. citizen, which would allow him to be placed on the ballot for the May 2012 elections.

Hazem Abu Ismail is a popular lawyer and Islamic cleric with a large group supporters especially members of the extremist Salafi movement, according to Law Enforcement Examiner's Israeli source, a former U.S. police official now living and serving in Israel.

RUSSIAN MOB INVOLVED IN WORLDWIDE SLAVE TRADE: GOVERNMENT REPORT

Jim Kouri — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 06:40:00 EST

A recent government report estimates that between 45,000 to 50,000 women and children are brought to the United States every year under false pretenses and are forced to work as prostitutes, abused laborers or servants.

According to analysts with the Government Accountability Office, a major purveyor of these de facto slaves is the Russian organized crime syndicate. Brutal, cunning and ruthless, these 21st Century mobsters present a new threat to US national security, according to law enforcement officials.

UNICEF estimates that more than 200,000 children are enslaved by cross-border smuggling in West and Central Africa. The children are often �sold� by unsuspecting parents who believe their children are going to be looked after, learn a trade or be educated.