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February 10, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – New information indicates that blind Chinese pro-life activist Chen Guangcheng and his wife were “beaten senseless” by agents of the Chinese government just before the release of a secret video this week, says the human rights organization the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD).

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CHRD says it learned of the beating from an anonymous source. The group says that Chen and his wife were beaten on Tuesday, after officials learned about the video, in which Chen and his wife speak of the ongoing persecution against them by the communist Chinese regime.

(Read more about and see the video here.)

The beating was so severe that they are unable to get out of bed, and reportedly will not be permitted to go to the hospital. They have not been allowed to leave their house since Chen was released from prison last September, after serving a four-year sentence.

Chen is China’s foremost opponent of the brutal one-child policy, which involves the routine use of forced abortion and sterilization.

According to another human rights group, ChinaAid, the video, which was shot at Chen’s house and released to the public on Wednesday, was smuggled out of China by a disgruntled government employee.

(Read more about and see the video here.)

In it Chen and his wife describe the 24/7 surveillance that their house has been put under, as well as the ongoing intimidation tactics used by government agents.

Being beaten is nothing new for Chen and his wife. When Chen was released from prison in September he was reportedly in extremely poor health, due in large part to the beatings he received in prison.

During Chen’s imprisonment his wife, Yuan Weijing, was also subjected to occasional beatings.