(Minghui.org) Fifty-year-old Xu Tianpeng is currently head of the Fengrun District Court. Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong practitioners in 1999, he has been actively taking part by abusing the legal system in his capacity as a judge and has sentenced more than a dozen Falun Gong practitioners. The emotional and mental harm he has caused is incalculable, and many practitioner families have been torn apart. These families are now pursuing charges against him. Detailed below are examples of Xu's reprehensible and illegal conduct.
Xu Tianpeng Creates Difficulties, Threatens and Banishes Lawyers, and Deprives Practitioners and Their Lawyers of Their Rights
Those who know Xu Tianpeng say that he does not respect anyone, including the lawyers and defendants that come through his courtroom. He makes things difficult for the defense lawyers of Falun Gong practitioners, and he verbally attacks them. He has even interrupted the defending lawyers' defense speech, deprived practitioners of their rights to a defense, refused to allow lawyers to review the case files, and even driven lawyers out of the courtroom.
Before practitioner Jia Yuanfeng was tried on September 11, 2008, the lawyer asked to meet with the defendant, a legal request. But the court refused to allow it. During the trial, Xu Tianpeng interrupted the lawyer's defense several times. When the lawyers pointed out that Xu was not complying with the law, Xu said, "This is my courtroom, and this is the way we do things. If you keep saying that, you are out of order, and we will drive you out of the courtroom.”
Mr. Wang Xiwen's family asked Lawyer Li Jinglin to represent Mr. Wang. On July 21, 2009, Lawyer Li went to the court to review Mr. Wang's case files. After Li had waited for more than an hour, Xu Tianpeng asked him to provide a copy of his ID. According to Li Jinglin, this was the first time in his 20-year career as a lawyer that he had been asked to provide a copy of his ID. After Lawyer Li copied the document, Xu then asked to examine Li's certification. In the end, after all sorts of further obstacles Xu put forth, Li Jinglin was not able to gain access to Wang Xiwen's case files.
During practitioner Li Yushu's trial, Xu Tianpeng repeatedly interrupted Lawyer Jiang Tianyong's defense speech.
On April 4, 2012, elderly practitioners Ms. Zhang Guizhi and Ms. Zhang Mingfeng were arrested by Zheng Baogang, an officer from the Fengdengwu Police Station. Before the arrest, Zheng Baogang personally asked the two women for a truth-clarification CD. They kindly gave him one. As they were talking, a police car drove up, and without any explanation, Ms. Zhang Guizhi and Ms. Zhang Mingfeng were pulled into the car and then detained. On August 20, 2012, the court tried the women secretly, without notifying their families and without posting any announcement of the trial date and time. Ms. Zhang Guizhi was sentenced to four years of imprisonment, and Ms. Zhang Mingfeng to three years. When they heard about it, their families went to the court for an explanation. Xu Tianpeng said, “There was no need to notify the family. We notified Zhang Guizhi and Zhang Mingfeng themselves, and that was enough.”
When Zhang Guizhi defended herself during her trial, Xu repeatedly interrupted her, did not let her continue, and quickly brought the proceedings to an end. The court assigned Ms. Zhang Mingfeng a defense lawyer. However, the lawyer colluded with the judge, and when the lawyer had a meeting with her, he tried to force her to write a guarantee statement not to practice Falun Gong.
When Ms. He Suying was tried, she had a relapse of a heart problem brought on by the persecution. She wanted to defend herself, even though she was weak. However, the court appointed a defense lawyer for her. The lawyer kept defending the Party, and Xu simply did not let Ms. He Suying speak.
Xu Tianpeng Humiliated the Defendants and Refused to Allow Their Relatives to Attend the Trials
When Falun Gong practitioners were tried in a "public hearing," rarely were the defendants' relatives or friends allowed to be present.
On February 25, 2012, Fengrun District plainclothes officers coerced Mr. Yang Guoguang's family into tricking him into coming home. The police then arrested him and illegally detained him for nearly six months. On August 6, 2012, Mr. Yang was tried in the 8th court of the Fengrun District. Potential attendees were examine and harassed and kept from entering. Finally, only 11 of Mr. Yang's relatives and friends were able to be present at the trial. All the other visitors' passes were given to pre-arranged individuals.
When the trial formally started at 9:20 a.m., Xu Tianpeng, the presiding judge, chatted about non-pertinent things. During the proceedings, he was not serious and was full of insults. Mr. Yang Guoguang's lawyer asked the court to have Mr. Yang's handcuffs and shackles removed. Xu Tianpeng refused to allow it. When the lawyer tried again to have them removed later, Xu Tianpeng said to the lawyer, “You do not have the right.”
The lawyer asked Mr. Yang Guoguang, "Why were you sent to a labor camp in 2000?" Mr. Yang answered, "I used to smoke, drink, and fight. After I started practicing Falun Gong, I learned to be a good person. In 2000, when I was working the land, I was arrested for no reason and then sentenced to two years of forced labor.” Xu interrupted Mr. Yang and said, “This has nothing to do with your case. Say something relevant.” Clearly, what Mr. Yang was saying exposed the CCP's evil persecution.
Mr. Li Yushu was tried on August 28, 2012. At first his family members were not allowed into the courtroom. After protests from the family, a policewoman started issuing passes for them to enter. When Mr. Li appeared in court, his friends and family members could not recognize him. When he left home on February 25, he was about 180 Jin (approximately 193 pounds). In court he looked to be only 110 to 120 Jin (about 118 to 129 pounds), and his hands were cuffed. After his friends, family members, and other visitors had just sat down, one of his relatives was asked to leave the courtroom. Later she said that they attempted to pull her into a police vehicle and arrest her. Because of her strong protest, they were not successful.
A clerk read the courtroom rules, and Xu Tianpeng commented, “If any relatives or lawyers do not comply with the rules as stated, no mercy will be shown.” Xu then added an additional rule, saying that anyone who violated the new rule would be fined 1,000 yuan and detained for 15 days. The lawyers then asked the court to remove the handcuffs. Xu denied their request and ordered them not to ask again.
Mr. Wang Xiwen was tried in Fengrun District Court on September 3, 2009. Although it was a "public" trial, many of Mr. Wang's friends and relatives could not get in because most of the gallery seats were occupied by police and personnel from the 610 Office.
Ling Yun was not a practitioner, but she was arrested by the CCP police for being sympathetic to Falun Gong practitioners. On June 22, 2009, the Fengrun District Court put her on trial. No one was allowed to observe the proceedings. Even her mother and husband were kept out of the courtroom. Only Ling Yun, presiding judge Xu Tianpeng, several other judges, and a court appointed lawyer, Ma Qiuping, who colluded with the judges, were present. Ling Yun's mother and husband really wanted to observe the trial, and they knocked on the door. Xu shouted, "Cuff them if they knock on the door again!"
Illegal Sentencing Based on Fabricated Evidence
In order to convict Mr. Li Yushu, evidence was fabricated. They said that more than 820 calendars and more than 4000 amulets were found in Mr Li's home. Mr. Li said, “At most, there were two calendars and a dozen amulets. I do not understand where all those other items came from.”
When the court tried Mr. Wang Xiwen, the prosecutor did not submit any evidence. They only showed some photos and affidavits from the Domestic Security division. The lawyers pointed out that the photos did not meet requirements for physical evidence. They also pointed out that the Domestic Security division is an investigative unit, tasked with gathering evidence for the case, and that it has no authority to collect affidavits. The lawyers concluded that the “evidence” was obtained illegally and therefore had no legitimacy.
Xu Tianpeng did not reply to the lawyers' defense. Without any evidence, he disregarded the law and sentenced Mr. Li Yushu to 10 years in prison, Gu Youwen to seven years in prison, Mr. Yang Guoguang to four-and-a-half years, Ms. He Suying to four years, Mr. Wang Xiwen to four years, Jia Yuanfeng to three years, Zhang Weizhong to two years, Ling Yun to three years, Zhang Mingfeng to three years, Zhang Guizhi to four years, and Deng Xiuyan to four-and-a-half years. He also sentenced Xu Jie to seven years without trial and without notifying Xu Jie's family. When the practitioners' family members asked Xu Tianpeng for the verdict, he told them that he had never given any verdict.
In its treatment of Falun Gong practitioners and their families, the Chinese Communist Party does not follow the law or abide by legitimate legal proceedures. The families typically cannot get any information about the practitioners, and practitioners are often sent to prison without opportunity to appeal.
Xu Tianpeng has violated the law. Family members of Falun Gong practitioners have pressed charges to prosecute Xu Tianpeng for his criminal behavior.
Contact information:
Xu Tianpeng: +86-315-5155522 (Office)
