In May 26, 2008, while Jiang Yabin worked in a rice field, more than twenty policemen broke into his home and stole much of his property, even his roof tiles. This October, his family members discover he has been illegally sentenced to a labor camp. He is preparing a legal appeal of his sentence.

Jixi City Court Sentences Jiang Yabin to Jail Term (Photo)

Mr. Jiang Yabin is a Falun Gong practitioner from Hengshan District, Jixi City of Heilongjiang Province. On October 13, 2008, when several of his family members went to the city courthouse to appeal for his release and inform the officials about his innocence, the criminal court head Li Jiangang rejected their request. He told them, "Jiang Yabin has been sentenced to three years in jail. The sentence cannot be overturned."

Mr. Jiang's family asked, "When was he sentenced? Why were we not informed?"

Li told them that the sentence was issued on October 9 and that they should go to the intermediate court if they wanted to appeal.

The family said to him, "We have come here to talk about the innocence of Jiang Yabin in detail." Li Jiangang and presiding judge Zhang Shaomin interrupted them, "You have already talked too much during the court hearing. You talked about the same issue."

Mr. Jiang Yabin

The court hearing they mentioned was held on September 25, 2008. When public prosecutor Xu Yingchao read the prosecution statement, his hands were shaking. When he read the list of materials confiscated during a police raid of Jiang's home, Jiang Yabin found out that in order to add more weight to the case, they exaggerated the number of materials confiscated from about 100 copies to 384 copies. When Jiang Yabin tried to correct it, the judge stopped him and repeatedly said that he could only answer with "yes" or "no."

Mr. Jiang Yabin gave his statement in the court, "I used to have many diseases, including stomach problems and blood in my stool, and I was cured through practicing Falun Gong. The government has been persecuting Falun Gong. The materials I printed tell people how to be a good person. I'm not wrong. There are Falun Gong practitioners in more than 80 countries. Why are we not allowed to practice in China? I didn't commit any crimes when I printed these materials. The court should release me immediately."

When the defendant's lawyer tried to further discuss the topic, the prosecutor claimed that this discussion was not related to the case. Then Judge Zhang Shaomin prevented the lawyer from defending Mr. Jiang Yabin any further.

One of the witnesses in the court was Zhao Lianxi, who lived in the same village as Jiang Yabin and was a village security staff member. His statement showed that Jiang Yabin didn't harm anyone. The defendant also provided five written statements that stated Jiang was a good person and didn't harm anyone. However, these statements were not used in the court. Some facts were even twisted and they were used as criminal evidence. Furthermore, the list of property which had been confiscated during the police raid of Jiang's home didn't state that they also had taken 3000 yuan in cash. This money was for Jiang's daughter's tuition and was also confiscated by the police during the raid.

At around 10:00 a.m. on May 26, 2008, when Jiang Yabin worked in the rice field, more than twenty policemen in five police cars broke into his home. These officers were from the Liumao Township Police Station and Hengshan District Police Department in Jixi City. They ransacked his entire house including the storage building. They even climbed on the roof and tore off the tiles that covered the roof. They took away personal property and cash. Jiang Yabin's parents were shocked so much that they got sick and had to stay in bed for five or six days.

Jiang Yabin is now appealing his case.