Brave lawyers are resisting the lack of cooperation by prison officials in Lianoning Province.
Ms. Zhang Xingyu, a head nurse in the Minzu Medical School Hospital , was arrested again this April 1, 2009. She had been previously imprisoned and severly tortured but she recovered and resumed a responsible job.
Liaoning Province Women's Prison Prevent Lawyers from Visiting with Defendants
On December 2008, officials of the Shenbei New District Court in Shenyang City handed down a very unreasonable judgment and used the charge of "violating the law" in order to sentence Ms. Wang Shumei, Mr. Xi Changhai, Mr. Huo Defu and Mr. Sun Yushu to very heavy penalties. The lawyers, who were hired by Ms. Wang Shumei's and Mr. Xi Changhai's families, pleaded with the officials of the Women's Prison in Liaoning Province to allow them to meet with their clients, but their request was unreasonably denied.
On February 18, 2009, the families of Ms. Wang and Mr. Xi separately hired well known human rights lawyers Mr. Tang Jitian and Mr. Lan Zhixue to defend these innocent practitioners. The lawyers examined the court's documents in accordance with legal procedures and met separately with their clients in the Shenyang City Detention Center and the Shenbei District Detention Center respectively. These two lawyers immediately express-mailed appeal documents to Bian Fuxueat, Chief Justice at the Intermediate People's Court in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province.
On March 4, 2009, the lawyers again followed up with another legal procedure and requested to meet with their clients, but were told that Ms. Wang Shumei had been transferred to the Liaoning Province Women's Prison and Mr. Xi Changhai had been transferred to another prison used to house new inmates in Liaonng Province. Lawyer Mr. Lan Zhixue went to the Women's Prison and submitted his request to see Ms. Wang. He was told by personnel working at the procedures window that a single lawyer is not permitted to meet with a defendant. The personnel then told the lawyer that Ms. Wang was being held in Ward 8.
After several twists and turns, on May 13, 2009, the two lawyers again went to the Liaoning Province Women's Prison, submitted the required legal documents, and asked to meet with Ms. Wang. This time they were told by case personnel that, although the legal documents were properly completed, they still needed to go to the Judicial Department and fill out a meeting request approval form. The two lawyers had no other choice but to go back and file the request.
To further confirm the whereabouts of Mr. Xi Changhai, the attorneys went to Shenyang City Prison for new inmates. The prison personnel told the lawyers that Mr. Xi was being detained at the 1st Prison of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. When the attorneys arrived at that location, personnel with the prison's political branch said, "Mr. Xi Changhai is being imprisoned in Ward 23. It's past the stipulated meeting time; you will have to wait till tomorrow to meet your client." Around 10:00 a.m. the next morning, after the lawyers had submitted their legitimate requests, they finally got to meet with their client. Mr. Xi told the lawyers: "The prison authorities have forced members of my family and friends to visit me. The evil prison guards attempted to use my loved one's affection to try to 'transform' me. Although my freedom is being restricted, I refuse to compromise with those evil beings and will not do anything unworthy that could bring shame to Falun Dafa or Teacher!"
Around 2:00 p.m. on May 14, the lawyers once again followed legal procedures and requested to meet with Ms. Wang. They were told again that, although the legal documents were complete, they still needed to go to the Province Judicial Department to file an approval. These attorneys then asked these people why they had not mentioned this when they had met with Mr. Xi earlier? Were they not performing their duty? They also wanted to know if they had to request an approval from the Judicial Department for prisoners that are not Falun Gong practitioners or do these requests only apply to Falun Gong practitioners? The prison personnel refused to give a direct answer. They said that the order was issued by higher-ups and that all visitation with Falun Gong practitioners needed to be filed with the Judicial Department for approval. The lawyers then visited a deputy warden's office who told them that the request to file a meeting approval to see practitioners was issued by the National Ministry of Justice in 2004. They claimed that they could not find the paperwork now and to just go and file the request!
Thus, it seems that this request was only a verbal order from those higher ups and does not have any legal grounds.
In view of the facts above, lawyers Tang Jitian and Mr. Lan Zhixue are planning to file a complaint against the Prison Administration Division of Liaoning Province. They also plan to file a complaint against Panjing Prison for intentionally delaying their meeting with Mr. Xi Changhai and for obstructing their meeting with Ms. Wang Sumei.
Ms. Zhang Xingyu Sent to Forced Labor Camp Repeatedly
Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Zhang Xingyu, a head nurse in Minzu Medical School Hospital in Youjiang District, Baise City, Guangxi Province, was abducted from work and taken to a brainwashing center by agents of the Chinese Communist Party on April 1, 2009. She was subsequently taken to Guangxi Women's Forced Labor Camp, and is currently being held in Ward 2. Previously, Ms. Zhang was jailed in the same forced labor camp for four years. She had been tortured so badly while detained there that she could only crawl when released from the camp.
At 5:00 p.m. on April 1, 2009, police officers from the Baise City 610 Office and Youjiang District Police went to the medical building in the Minzu Hospital, arrested Ms. Zhang at work, and took her to the brainwashing center.
The brainwashing center was co-founded by the City, District CCP Political and Judiciary Committtee and the 610 Office. It was in Building 3 of Baise Hotel. The center began its operation on April 1, 2009. The security was very tight, with plainclothes police guarding it around the clock.
Sources say that they arrested scores of Falun Gong practitioners from the twelve towns and counties within Baise City. They separated male and female practitioners into different classes. They tried to force them to "transform" and give up their belief in Falun Gong by using nerve-damaging drugs and depriving them of sleep. Quite a few practitioners were unable to withstand the torture and wrote the Three Statements. After their release, they were completely confused, mentally blurry, not even able to remember their own names.
Ms. Zhang was considered by the city government to be one of the key targets. They tried all sorts of tricks but were not able to force her to give in. Soon the news came out that Ms. Zhang was sentenced to three years in the forced labor camp. She is now jailed in Ward 2, Guangxi Women's Forced Labor Camp.
Ms. Zhang, 42, from Leyie County, Baise City, is a head nurse in the Youjiang Minzu Medical School Hospital in Guanxi. She was jailed in Gaungxi Women's Forced Labor Camp for four years between 2001 through 2005. During this time, she was cuffed to the window rails and tortured, damaging her leg nerves and she collapsed to the floor. (Details at /emh/articles/2005/3/11/58350.html)
Ms. Zhang used to be vibrant and healthy, but when she was released in January 2005, she was badly disabled, and could only crawl on the ground on her hands and knees. The tragic scene was unbearable to the bystanders and even some police officers. Some officers commented privately: "I did not expect that the police women in the forced labor camp were even rougher than us policemen."
The condemnation from decent people scared the villains and the organizations responsible for the persecution. They continued with the monitoring, threats, and harassment of Ms. Zhang, but relying on her steadfast belief in Falun Gong, she persisted in her cultivation under the harsh environment, restored her past beauty and health, and returned to work.
Unfortunately, on April 1, 2009, Ms. Zhang was arrested and again put in the forced labor camp. As of now, information on her persecution has been tightly concealed, and no one knows her condition.