Rare retrial opens for blind China activist

BEIJING, Nov 27 (Reuters) The retrial of a blind Chinese ''barefoot lawyer'' began today, after an appeals court overturned his controversial conviction for damaging property, but not before one of his lawyers was detained, a villager and an attorney's assistant said.

Self-taught Chen Guangcheng was sentenced in August to four years and three months in jail on charges that he damaged property and disrupted traffic after a protest erupted in his home village of Dongshigu in the eastern province of Shandong in February.

But he and his family maintained the case was trumped up by vengeful local officials after he exposed forced late-term abortions and other family planning abuses.

In a rare move, the appeals court ordered a retrial.

The hearing began behind closed doors in Yinan County People's Court but one of his lawyers, Teng Biao, was denied entry and forced by about five policemen into a police van which drove away, said the villager surnamed Wang who declined to give her full name for fear of repercussions.

A court official reached by telephone described the retrial as an ''ordinary case'' and declined to provide details.

Security was tight in and around the court, witnesses said. More than 10 supporters standing outside were ordered by police to leave.

During Chen's first trial, defence lawyers were detained on accusations of stealing a bag, and he was defended by stand-in attorneys who knew little about his case.

China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Wang Zhenchuan, China's deputy chief prosecutor, as saying this month that ''nearly every wrongful verdict in recent years has involved illegal interrogation''.

Wang said about 30 people were officially found to be wrongfully convicted each year in China after having confessions forced out of them by torture, but added that the real number could be higher.

State media said earlier this month that China had found nearly all six million defendants in criminal cases guilty in the past nine years.

REUTERS BDP PM0945