A Chinese court rejected the final appeal Friday of Chen Guangcheng, a blind Chinese human rights legal activist, who was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for damaging property and "organizing a mob to disturb traffic." The Intermediate Court in Linyi city upheld the verdict and sentence after a Chinese intermediate appellate court ordered a retrial of Chen's case in November.

Chen claims the charges are retribution for his documentation of forced sterilizations and abortions performed by Chinese officials to enforce China's one-child policy. Chen was tried without the assistance of his team of prominent Chinese lawyers, who were arrested during the trial on charges of stealing a wallet. Human rights activists in China  characterize Chen's prosecution as indicative of China's uncompromising stance against public dissent.