(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang Jinfeng from Baoding, Hebei Province, was illegally sentenced on December 27, 2013, to three years in prison. She filed a lawsuit with the intermediate court to protest the sentence.
To date, Baoding Intermediate Court has not held a hearing or announced a judgment in response to her suit, but the chief judge claimed that the case was closed. Neither she nor her defense lawyers were ever informed of it.
The three lawyers her family hired for her at different stages have filed complaints with the Procuratorate Office against those in the legal system who have openly acted against the law.
Nanshi District Court Obstructed Lawyers and Secretly Sentenced Ms. Wang
Ms. Wang was arrested and detained on October 14, 2011, under the false charge of “undermining the enforcement of law.” She was released on November 20, 2011, but was arrested again on May 7, 2012, by Nanshi Police Sub-station. Nanshi District Court sentenced her to three years in prison on December 27, 2013.
Her husband hired a lawyer from Beijing to defend her. However, the court used all kinds of excuses to prevent the lawyer from getting involved and sentenced Ms. Wang to imprisonment secretly in the detention center. They openly deprived her of her right to defense.
Ms. Wang later logged an appeal within the proper time frame. To protect her legal rights, her husband hired two more lawyers from Beijing.
Baoding Intermediate Court Secretly Concludes the Lawsuit, Lawyers Stunned
On February 26, 2014, the two lawyers went to the intermediate court to submit their defense. The gatekeeper stopped them and told them they first had to get permission from the chief judge. They called chief judge Cui Shuguang, but no one answered. Later, Cui called the lawyers back and told them Ms. Wang's case was finished and there was no need for them to submit the Power of Attorney. By 5:00 p.m. that day, Ms. Wang had not received any judgment on her appeal nor was she allowed to attend any court sessions. She was still preparing her defense for the appeal.
The lawyers believe that Ms. Wang was not only deprived of her right to defense in the first trial by the Nanshi District Court, but chief judge Cui Shuguang again denied her of her rights in the second trial. The judge also hindered her lawyers from exercising their right to defend her.
Defense Lawyers: “What Were They Trying to Cover Up?”
The lawyers couldn't help but wonder why the case dragged on for over two years and why the judges completely ignored the law and openly prevented the lawyers from getting involved. They said, “What were they trying to cover up?”
They pointed out that, according to Article 125 of the Constitution of the PRC, the accused has the right to a defense. Article 5 of the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates: The People's Courts shall exercise judicial power independently in accordance with law and the People's Procuratorates shall exercise procuratorial power independently in accordance with law, and they shall be free from interference by any administrative organ, public organization, or individual. Article 11 says: Cases in the People's Courts shall be heard in public, unless otherwise provided by this Law. A defendant shall have the right to defense, and the People's Courts shall have the duty to guarantee his defense. Article 14 says: The People's Courts, the People's Procuratorates, and the public security organs shall safeguard the procedural rights to which participants in proceedings are entitled according to law. Article 36 says: Defense lawyers may, from the date on which the People's Procuratorate begins to examine a case for prosecution, consult, extract, and duplicate the judicial documents pertaining to the current case and the technical verification material, and may meet and correspond with the criminal suspect in custody.
They pointed out that Nanshi District Court ignored the laws and the basic rights of citizens by illegally depriving Ms. Wang of her right to defense. In particular, they refused to allow the lawyers to be involved and held a trial in secrecy. Those responsible are suspected of bending the law in making judgments.
Attorneys Wang Guangqi and Li Chunfu filed complaints with both Hebei Province Procuratorate and Baoding City Procuratorate on February 27, 2014.
Defense Lawyer: “Those Who Persecute People for Their Belief Will Suffer the Consequences in the End”
Ms. Wang's lawyer for the first trial filed complaints with Baoding City Procuratorate on January 2, 2014, against those working in the legal system for their unlawful conduct. They include: Zhai Guohui, head of Nanshi Police Sub-station; case police officer Jiang Chunzeng; Dai Junfeng, prosecutor-general of Nanshi District Procuratorate; Jia Rongjun, head of public prosecution; prosecutor Jia Weidong; Chen Jingxian, head of Nanshi District Court; deputy head Geng Xiuqin; and chief judges Zhou Aiguo, Xu Kunshuang, and Liu Jinshui.
The lawyers pointed out in their complaints: “It's against the Constitution and the law to persecute Ms. Wang and other Falun Gong practitioners by sentencing them to forced labor and imprisonment simply because they refuse to give up their beliefs.
Such conduct, as well as the persecution campaign, resulted from the mistakes of certain individuals. Based on the Constitution, such conduct clearly goes against the will of the law. It is above the law. Those who engage in such conduct are the real enemies of the country. Such conduct has already caused serious humanitarian disasters, social chaos, and national division in China. Those who are responsible will suffer the consequences and be severely punished by the law in the end."
