Crimes Committed by the Dalian Judicial System Against Local Falun Gong Practitioners

(Minghui.org) Following her most recent arrest earlier this year, Ms. Zhang Chengjun, a 76-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Dalian City, Liaoning Province, was first sent to Yaojia Forced Labor Camp on February 18, 2014, and then transferred to Liaoning Women’s Prison on March 4.

The local authorities, however, kept Ms. Zhang’s family in the dark during the entire process. No formal paperwork was issued to the family, nor did the family receive any phone calls confirming Ms. Zhang’s arrest or detention. Every time the family went to inquire about her whereabouts, they were bounced back and forth between different departments, receiving no answers whatsoever.

Only after great effort by the family did they eventually find out where Ms. Zhang was being detained.

Sadly, what happened to Ms. Zhang and her family is not the first of such cases. Ever since the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, the illegal prosecution of law-abiding practitioners has been continuing across the entire country.

The judicial system (including courts, Procuratorates, and police), which is tasked with seeking justice for the wronged, has become a convenient tool used by the regime to suppress practitioners.

Instead of righting the wrongs for practitioners, the judicial system charges them with groundless accusations and sentences them heavily. The so-called open trials are just formalities, as the verdicts are usually pre-determined. The practitioners’ lawyers, families, and supporters are often threatened and/or punished for standing up for them.

The persecution has also brought out the worst in many police officers, judges, and other judicial workers. They have completely lost their professionalism and conscience in their pursuit of job security, political gain, and monetary rewards. They show total disregard for the law and often claim politics is higher than the law.

For an in-depth discussion of the judicial system's role in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, see the series “ Injustice Is Served: The Court System in Today's China ” published by the Minghui website.

In what follows, we present cases that show how the judicial system in Dalian City, Liaoning Province breaks the law in its prosecution of law-abiding local practitioners.

Incentivized by Huge Bonuses, Judicial Workers Go All Out to Persecute Practitioners

According to insiders, those working in the judicial system are rewarded for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. They get either promotions or cash bonuses for reporting, arresting, and sentencing practitioners.

A Minghui article entitled “ Dalian City Government Makes Major Investments to Persecute Falun Gong ” offers a glimpse of the incentive system Dalian authorities have in place to instigate the judicial workers into sparing no efforts to harm practitioners.

Zhao Zhenjin, a police officer who died suddenly following a quarrel with his wife, was one example given in the article. The Dalian government forged evidence to show he died in the line of duty, which positioned him as a “Hero and Model for the National Public Security.” As a result, his family received a hefty compensation of over 1 million yuan.

The article also revealed that for each practitioner sentenced to forced labor, his or her local police station was rewarded 20,000 yuan. The individual officers selected as “Model Officer in Handling Falun Gong” were each given 10,000 yuan.

Under such an incentive system, many judges have no qualms putting law-abiding citizens behind bars. As a matter of fact, handing down heavy sentences to innocent practitioners has become a secret way for those judges to make quick money via huge bonuses.

Judge Li Bianjiang Claims, “If the Government Lifts Its Ban on Falun Gong, I’ll then Acquit Wang Jian!”

On November 21, 2012, the Shaohekou District Court in Dalian City opened an illegal trial of practitioner Wang Jian without his family’s knowledge. Though his lawyer delivered a convincing argument in his defense, he was still sentenced to a seven-year term.

Before the trial, Mr. Wang’s family actually had tried to urge the Shahekou District Procuratorate to drop the case, but was instead treated rudely. They were made to wait for half an hour before a staff member finally came out to receive them. When pressed to show legal evidence that could be used to prosecute Mr. Wang, the man became furious and pointed his finger at the family, yelling, “Are you making a fuss here? Let me tell you something. We’ve treated Falun Gong like this for the past 15 years! You got complaints? Go talk to Xi Jinping (Chinese president).”

After finding out Mr. Wang’s illegal sentence, the family urged judge Li Bianjiang to overturn his decision. Li replied, “I am a Party member and I have to follow orders. If the government lifts its ban on Falun Gong, I’ll then acquit Wang Jian!”

Spies Dispatched to Heckle Defense Attorney—Court Secretary Tampers with Hearing Record

When Ganjingzi District Court in Dalian City, Liaoning Province tried practitioner Yan Jinhua on May 24, 2013, judge Li Zenglan was anything but impartial as she sided with public prosecutor An Ying during the entire trial.

Whenever Yan Jinhua’s family or lawyer spoke, the judge did her best to stop them. There were even spies disguised as audience members who booed loudly when the lawyer defended his client.

Yan Jinhua’s family testified that she was injured while jumping out of a window to escape the police’s interrogation that involved torture. However, the public prosecutor cut them off and claimed it had nothing to do with the case.

To the family’s astonishment, court secretary Lou Yuzhen even tampered with the hearing records. She wrote that the court sentenced Yan Jinhua to 3-5 years, and her family agreed to the verdict. When the family found out, they were outraged, “We are defending her as not-guilty. Why did you say she was convicted and sentenced?”

Lou was unapologetic for her actions and very impatient with the family. In the end she had to correct the records upon the family’s insistence.

Ms. Yan was sentenced to a four-year term.

Zhongshan District Court and Police Obstruct and Intimidate Attorneys

A total of 13 local practitioners were arrested in early 2013 for installing satellite dishes for customers seeking to receive programs produced by the New Tang Dynasty TV Station (a U.S.-based independent media free of the CCP control).

An illegal trial for the 13 practitioners was scheduled for April 12, 2013, by the Zhongshan District Court in Dalian City. The night before the trial was to start, the five defense attorneys representing the practitioners received notice that it had been canceled.

On the morning of April 12, a large number of police officers arrested family members and other Falun Gong practitioners who had come to attend the trial. Two defense lawyers were also arrested and detained, and one of them, Cheng Hai, was beaten by police officers.

After being posted on the Internet, this case drew broad attention. For more details, see “ Travesty of Justice: Mass Arrests of Falun Gong Practitioners in Dalian City, Lawyer Beaten .”

Zhongshan District Court has held a total of nine trials since April 12. A group of twelve lawyers from Beijing worked together to defend the wrongly-accused practitioners, and discovered that the so-called “evidence” had been fabricated and extorted through torture.

When the Beijing lawyers pointed out such illegal police behavior however, they were blocked from representing their clients.

After removing the Beijing lawyers from the case, the court appointed some local lawyers to defend the practitioners and ordered them to enter guilty pleas for their clients.

Judge Liang Yongguo announced formal sentences of nine of the thirteen concerned practitioners on January 27, 2014. All were given heavy prison terms: Che Zhongshan, 4 years; Zhu Chengqian, 5 years and 9 months; Wang Shouchen, 4 years and 6 months; Pei Zhenbo, 5 years and 6 months; Pan Xiuqing, 5 years and 3 months; Shi Zhanshun, 4 years and 6 months; Bai Ruyu, 4 years and 6 months; Yu Bo, 4 years; and Guo Song, 4 years.

All nine practitioners have filed appeals against the illegal verdicts, and their families have vowed to fight for justice to the very end.

Zhongshan District Court Insists on Trying Two Practitioners in Critical Condition

She Yue  Qu Bin

Two local practitioners, Mr. She Yue and Mr. Qu Bin, were in critical condition, yet the court insisted on trying them. Both practitioners were wheeled into the courtroom, and the judge had to adjourn the sessions in a hurry. In the end, Mr. Qu was released on medical parole, and Mr. She was taken back to his detention facility.

When Mr. Qu was admitted to Dalian Detention Center on August 30, 2013, he was still recovering from earlier injuries sustained at another detention facility. As a result, he couldn’t eat or drink well. The guards claimed he was on a hunger strike and began to force-feed him. His esophagus was ruptured during force-feeding, and he often coughed up blood as a result. In addition, he lost consciousness frequently due to the brutal torture, and was rushed to emergency care many times.

When his wife visited him on October 25, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The man in front of her couldn’t walk, sit or talk. She almost collapsed and was heartbroken to see her once able-bodied husband in this wretched state.

After the visit, she called Zhongshan District Court repeatedly, urging them to cancel the upcoming trial. However, the court nonetheless tried Mr. Qu on October 29, 2013.

Mr. Qu was wheeled into the courtroom. The hearing ended in ten minutes, and he was later released on medical parole.

About two months later, the same court tried Mr. She, on December 27. While transporting him to the courthouse, the police had to fasten him to a wheelchair. He couldn’t sit straight and was in a near-comatose state. His lawyer and family boycotted the hearing in protest. In the end, the court had to adjourn the session within just a few minutes.

Righteous Court Officials and Attorneys Sentenced for Standing up for Falun Gong

Quite a few local attorneys and court officials were sentenced for practicing Falun Gong or standing up for Falun Gong practitioners. Among them were three prominent figures, official Li Maosun, Attorney Wang Yonghang, and Judge Li Dejun.

Mr. Li Maosun, a retired official from the Dalian City Procuratorate, was incarcerated at Dalian Forced Labor Camp for nearly one and a half years. The constant torture resulted in a brain hemorrhage, and he died on March 31, 2005.

Mr. Wang Yonghang, a human rights lawyer known for representing Falun Gong practitioners, was sentenced to a seven-year term on November 27, 2009. Though he appealed his case, Judge Wang Guoliang from Dalian City Intermediate Court decided to uphold the original verdict after just 15 minutes of deliberation.

On July 24, 2012, Mr. Wang and nine other Chinese lawyers were selected as “Top Ten Human Rights Lawyers in China” by a U.S. organization. Unfortunately, Mr. Wang wasn’t able to travel to the U.S. to receive this award, as he was and is still being held and subjected to torture at the Shenyang First Prison.

For more information about Mr. Wang, see Dalian City Attorney Mr. Wang Yonghang in Life-threatening Condition After Torture (Photos) Courageous Lawyer in China: It's My Honor to Defend the Innocence of Falun Gong Practitioners

Mr. Li Dejun, born on November 4, 1954, was the legal policy research department head of Hongqi Court in Ganjingzi District when the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999. After auditing numerous cases involving Falun Gong practitioners, he became a practitioner himself.

After Mr. Li was promoted to judge, he used his influence to encourage his staff to be better people. The local police arrested him on June 21, 2007, and the Pulandian City Court sentenced him to a three-year term in February 2008. Du Benyou, the local 610 Office head, was behind Mr. Li's arrest and sentencing.

At the time of Mr. Li’s sentencing, his wife had just lost her job. She had no income to support their ninth-grade daughter and Mr. Li's elderly parents. Heartbroken and unable to bear the heavy blow to the family, Mr. Li's mother passed away in late 2007.

The police tried numerous times to get Mr. Li to give up his belief, but he held firm to his faith throughout his illegal imprisonment.

(To be continued)