Chinese pro-life dissident Chen Guangcheng may have been coerced to leave the U.S. Embassy under threats against his family by Chinese officials.

Barely a day after major news sources reported that pro-life Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng had left the U.S. Embassy in Beijing voluntarily to be reunited with his family and live at peace in China, reports surfaced that Chen was actually coerced into returning to the custody of the repressive Chinese government under threats that his family would be harmed — and even killed — if he did not give himself up.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a close friend of Chen, Chinese activist Zeng Jinyan, “said the deal with U.S. officials to keep the dissident in China was forced on him to avoid harm to his family and supporters. Zeng said she was told by Chen’s wife that if her husband didn’t leave the embassy, she and her children would be forced to return to their village, where thugs armed with sticks were waiting to beat them to death.”

On May 2 the New York Times reported that Chen had left the U.S. Embassy only after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had intervened and Chen had been assured that he and his family would be safe. U.S. officials involved with the negotiations between Chen and Chinese officials said Chen had emphasized that he wanted to stay in China with his family, and to continue his studies at a university in that country.

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