Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has telephoned a US Congressional hearing to plead for help in his attempts to leave China with his family.
Mr Chen said he feared for the safety of his family and wanted to meet visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton face-to-face.
The activist is in a Beijing hospital sealed off by Chinese police.
He had spent a week at the US embassy but left after initially accepting China's assurances of his safety.
Mr Chen said that only after leaving the embassy did he fully realise the threats that had been made against his family members.
In his call, broadcast live to the Congressional hearing from a mobile phone, he said: "I want to come to the US to rest. I have not had a rest in 10 years.
"I'm concerned most right now with the safety of my mother and brothers. I really want to know what's going on with them."
Mr Chen told Rep Chris Smith, who was chairing the hearing at the Congressional commission on China: "I want to meet with Secretary Clinton. I hope I can get more help from her."
Mr Chen is in the hospital with his wife and children but the building is ringed by police and the BBC's Damian Grammaticas, who tried to visit on Thursday, said the activist was effectively under detention.
The case has increasing political resonance in the US.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said if reports that US officials had persuaded Mr Chen to leave the embassy were true "this is a dark day for freedom and it's a day of shame for the Obama administration".
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