China Releases Parents Of Melamine Children: Lawyer (Updated)

From AFP:

Chinese police have released five parents of children sickened by melamine-tainted milk, a day after detaining them to prevent them from holding a press conference, their lawyer told AFP Saturday.

The five were preparing to speak to the media to call for better compensation and treatment for sick children in China when they were detained Thursday evening in Beijing.

“They were released on Friday evening,” said lawyer Xu Zhiyong. “Their (the police’s) aim was to stop them from holding a press conference.”

Police in Beijing were unavailable for comment.

[Update]

The Los Angeles Times also reports on the ongoing legal battle of the parents.

“It is sorrowful for our nation. They just wanted to speak their voice,” said Xu Zhiyuan, a Beijing-based lawyer and activist who represents 111 parents. He said the parents were under what was euphemistically called “temporary restricted personal freedom.”

[…]Enraged parents in recent days have been protesting a financial settlement that they say the Chinese government is forcing down their throats. Parents say that the amounts offered — $300 for mild kidney stones and $4,400 for children who required hospitalization — do not even cover what they’ve already spent on medical treatment and that inadequate attention has been devoted to the long-term impact on the children’s health. The deal provides free medical treatment for the kidney condition until the children reach 18.

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