A blind social activist who was put under house arrest and repeatedly beaten after exposing the forced sterilization of women in east China has filed a lawsuit against two local officials, his lawyer said Wednesday.

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Chen Guangcheng, 34, also a self- educated "barefoot" lawyer, was abducted from Beijing and put under house arrest at his home in Dongshigu village in east China's Shandong province two months ago for speaking out against violations of family planning rules by his local Yinan county.

Officials have since blocked all his channels of contact with the outside world, cutting his phone line, taking away his computer and confiscating letters, his lawyer Teng Biao said.

Chen was beaten by several thugs who were allegedly hired by the county government when he tried to leave his home in early October and was beaten twice subsequently.

Teng last week filed a lawsuit on behalf of Chen at the Yinan County People's Court against the deputy head and another township official for inflicting grievous bodily harm and ordering other people to do the same.

Separately, a man who was tortured into a false confession, jailed for nearly two years and wrongly sentenced to death is suing two local law courts for compensation, state media reported Wednesday.

Zhou Rukou, 51, is bringing his case against east China's Yancheng Municipal Procuratorate and the Yancheng Municipal Intermediate People's Court for jailing him for 576 days and sentencing him to death, China Daily reported.

Zhou was arrested and detained on April 10, 2002, after being accused of robbing and murdering an 84-year-old man, it said. The Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court overturned the verdict in July 2003 on the grounds of inadequate evidence.

Zhou was released on bail in November 2003, and was exonerated in April when Yancheng Municipal Procuratorate dropped the case.

Zhou is demanding 1.26 million yuan (HK$1.21 million) in compensation for the mental distress, loss of freedom and financial losses that he and his family suffered, the report said. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE