World | Chen Guangcheng China Denies Lawyer for Chen's Nephew Chen Kegui charged with 'homicide' though no one was killed By Kevin Spak Posted May 18, 2012 9:46 AM CDT Copied Chen Guangcheng, center, holds hands with U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke, at a hospital in Beijing, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. (AP Photo/U.S. Embassy Beijing Press Office, File) The Chinese government has denied Chen Kegui his choice of lawyers, saying he must use a pair of government-appointed attorneys in his "intentional homicide" trial. Chen was slapped with that charge because he brandished a knife on April 27 when authorities burst into his home after his uncle's escape. No one was actually killed, but under Chinese law he could still be convicted and executed. A team of lawyers had volunteered to defend Chen, the nephew of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, but "they told us: 'According to Chinese law, a criminal suspect can only be commissioned two lawyers,'" one of those lawyers tells Reuters—and a government-run legal center has conveniently already assigned him two, whether he wants them or not. China has a history of preventing lawyers from trying sensitive cases. "Chen Kegui will not be able to get a real defense," said one member of his would-be legal team. His fate "will entirely be up to the authorities." Read These Next Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. Some of the most explosive Diddy allegations are dropped. NJ lifeguard survives after being impaled by an umbrella. Sprinter suffers wardrobe malfunction, still manages to win. Report an error