The nephew of the Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has been charged with voluntary manslaughter, amid growing concerns about reprisals and intimidation of lawyers.
The arrest comes as a senior lawyer defending Chen described to the Guardian how he lost his hearing in a beating by a senior state security official after he tried to visit his client in hospital last week.
Chen - a self-trained "barefoot lawyer" – has risen to international prominence since his intrepid escape last month from extrajudicial house arrest cast a harsh light on China's repressive domestic security policies and triggered a flurry of bilateral diplomacy.
But while he is now confident of his own safety, fears are growing about his family and lawyers.
The activist's nephew Chen Kegui faces a sentence ranging from 10 years in prison to the death penalty after he brandished a meat cleaver at intruders who burst into his home in Linyi, Shandong province, during the search for his uncle.
Lawyers say he acted in self-defence and only wounded the intruders, but his legal team have come under intense pressure from the local authorities to drop what looks set to become one of China's most politicised criminal cases in recent years.
Liu Weiguo, his lawyer, said he had heard about the charges from the Chen family. He said it was difficult to talk further because the authorities had forbidden him from talking to the foreign media.
Another member of the defence team, Chen Wuquan (no relation), told the Guardian he was supposed to visit Shandong on Thursday to meet his client, but his lawyer's licence had been confiscated.
Jiang Tianyong, another lawyer, said the charges were ridiculous.
"Obviously it was justifiable self-defence. What else can you call it when 10 armed, unknown men crawl over the wall, break into his house and beat him? Instead of punishing the culprits, the authorities are reversing the meaning of 'good' and 'evil'."
Jiang named several other lawyers under house arrest or close surveillance: Xu Zhiyong, Li Heping, Li Fangping, Teng Biao, and Li Xiongbing.
"Lawyers are forced not to be lawyers. Things like this only happen in China," said Jiang, whose eardrum was perforated during a beating by the head of state security last week after he tried to visit Chen in hospital.
Speaking by telephone, Jiang said he was abducted by 10 people when he tried to visit Chen on 3 May at the Beijing hospital where the activist is being treated. The lawyer was taken to a hotel on Linglong street, close to the Enjizhuang police station that is notorious for extra-legal interrogations. He said the head of Haidian district's state security, Du Yuhui, was responsible.
"Du Yuhui beat me only three times, once on my left ear, once on my right ear and once on my chest. It was only three times, but it was very very heavy. I still can't hear things clearly."
Other lawyers committed to the protection of rights in China have offered to step in and represent Chen Kegui, despite the risk of repercussions. Several of them were detained, interrogated and in some cases tortured last year in a separate crackdown.
Chen Guangcheng, who is now recuperating in a Beijing hospital and waiting for permission to travel to the US, said he was disgusted by the "mad retribution" against his relatives since he escaped from extralegal house arrest.
"I heard my older brother is not allowed to leave the village. My nephew is in police custody. My sister-in-law has been released on bail. All of the phones and mobile phones in my older brother's family have been taken away," he said by telephone.
"I feel awful about this. The people sent by the local government are like gangsters … What happened in Shandong should be thoroughly investigated. One local cadre even told me that they have their own ways to administer the district and they don't believe in the central government."
He said a cadre from the letters and visits bureau had promised an investigation into the events in Shandong. The bureau has a less than 1% record of finding officials guilty, but Chen said he would "wait and hope" for justice.
He too is far from at liberty. Although he is partly protected by a high-level deal between the Chinese and US governments, he has not been able to see US officials since the weekend. Journalists who have tried to visit him, including from the Guardian, have been threatened or had their press credentials temporarily confiscated.
Chen said his movements were restricted. "When I told them I needed to go outside to get some sunshine and fresh air, they refused. So I have to stay in my ward all the time," he said. His wife and children also need permission to go out. "Outside visitors are not allowed yet, especially reporters or my friends. Only approved people have been permitted to visit me."
The Chinese government said last week that Chen was free to apply for overseas travel like any other citizen, but it has yet to process his request for a passport.
