In this case defendant Ms. Zhong Fangqiong was allow to have a lawyer and to testify. However the court refuses to 'accept' her evidence.

Ms. Zhong Fangqiong Exposes the Use of Torture to Extort Confessions by CCP Police

At a trial in Wuhou District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, on September 27, 2008, Ms. Zhong Fangqiong and eight other Falun Gong practitioners claimed that they were tortured into giving confessions at a brainwashing center. The heinous persecution, especially the extremely cruel torture that Ms. Zhong experienced while detained at Yuanyuan Hotel, shocked even the lawyers.

The lawyer requested that the court accept the evidence provided by Ms. Zhong Fangqiong, who was tortured to extort a confession. But Chief Justice Shui Changbing dodged the request and refused to accept it. At a second trial on October 10, the court explained the reasoning for the refusal saying, "Since there is no confession in Zhong Fangqiong's case, how could there have been "extortion by torture to obtain a confession?" Does the absence of a confession mean Ms. Zhong Fangqiong was never subjected to interrogation by torture? Of course not! Because a Falun Gong practitioner remained steadfast and unyielding, the police got nowhere by torturing her.

The informants said that in December 2007, Ms. Zhong Fangqiong wrote to the officials of Wuhou District People's Procuratorate, in Chengdu City, accusing Wang Pengfei from the District Domestic Security Team and others officials of using torture to try and extort a confession from her. But to this day she hasn't received a reply. According to Clause 247 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, anyone who is convicted of using torture to extort confessions will be sentenced to at least three years in prison or detention.

Apart from the torture, this miscarriage of justice includes the detainment (in a brainwashing center), extended prison terms, and other violations of the law, as well as violations of human rights. These violations are very common and very serious. Ms. Zhong Fangqiong's lawyer Mr. Tang Jitian, and a former lawyer from Beijing Haodong Law Office said in her defense,

"The seriousness of using torture to extort confessions in this case was made very clear after an investigation was conducted as ordered by a court hearing. The act of torture to extort confessions is heinous. And detaining the litigants in various brainwashing centers is openly a criminal offense. Moreover, the litigants not only had their human rights trampled, but were also unscrupulously deprived of their personal property as were their family members. The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners has become an 'industry' for a minority to acquire wealth. In the process of investigating and prosecuting this case, the litigants and their relatives were not allowed to comment on, report on, or accuse anyone of illegal behavior. Moreover, they could not even be guaranteed their basic right to know. Frankly speaking, this case is a true portrayal of human rights violations committed by some individuals from the investigating team. In other words, the case was fabricated by them, while Ms. Zhong Fangqiong is only a stage prop used for their completion of this task and taking credit. They don't even spare an extremely weak lady, they don't even follow the basic procedures. What guarantee of human rights are there to talk about? Who on earth is sabotaging the execution of our national law? Isn't it Ms. Zhong Fangqiong who exercised her legitimate constitutional rights? I believe anyone with a normal IQ and without prejudice will find the answer without any difficulty."

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"In conclusion, the injustice Ms. Zhong Fangqiong suffered is a threat and a challenge to the masses. It doesn't matter if the injustice is in the name of honor for our nation or in the name of the Olympic Games, we shouldn't allow them to distort the law or abuse human rights. It is an indisputable truth of human rights that a nation should be based on human rights, and sovereign rights serve human rights. We should carry this in our hearts and put it into practice. It's true that power may determine the strong or weak at one moment, while truth determines victory or defeat over thousands of years."