The girls have been arrested and detained for over a month and are about to be sentenced because their family is accused of producing Falun Gong materials for distribution.
Local lawyers are forbidden to represent a Falun Gong practitioner in court.
Xingtai Police Set to Sentence Adolescent Girls Wang Hui and Wang Tong
On June 17, 2008, in the name of Olympics security, police officials from the State Security Group of Qiaodong Police Sub-Bureau in Xingtai City, Hebei Province, broke into the home of Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Feng Chao. Ms. Feng was not home at the time so she escaped the raid. Nonetheless five of Ms. Feng's family members were arrested, including her mother who is in her seventies, her brother Mr. Feng Kai who had came to visit their mother, her husband Wang Junnian, and their twin daughters, Wang Hui and Wang Tong. There were visitors to the house that day and they were arrested as well. All five family members are now in detention and being persecuted. Xingtai Police Bureau has submitted the case to the Provincial Office for sentencing. The family is charged with producing Falun Gong materials for distribution.
The twin girls, Wang Hui and Wang Tong, are high school graduates. They were born on February 7, 1991, and are just 17 years old. It has been over a month since their illegal arrests, and their mental and physical conditions are deteriorating fast. They are suffering from both mental and physical trauma and drastic weight loss. They are physically very weak now and if their situations prolong for much longer, they could lose their lives. The Chinese Communist officials now intend to "illegally sentence" them.
Because of this
illegal arrest, the girls were deprived of opportunities to further their
education, and their father lost his job. What was previously a happy family now
has no bread-winner.
Falun Gong Practitioner Wei Danquan Pleads Innocent in Court and Files an Appeal
On June 10, 2008 and June 23, 2008, Falun Gong practitioner Wei Danquan was put on trial at Shanhaiguan City Court in Hebei Province. On the first day of the trial, the lawyer who was appointed by the court defended Wei Danquan as though he had committed a crime. Because of this, at the second court session Wei Danquan was sentenced to four years of imprisonment. The court personnel announced that he could file an appeal within ten days. Wei Danquan immediately announced in the courtroom that he wanted to appeal.The first step in filing an appeal is to hire a lawyer. However, all of the lawyers in the Qinhuangdao Area have already received notice from the Justice Bureau that they are not allowed to defend Falun Gong practitioners in court. All lawyers are registered with the Justice Bureau, which has the power to renew or revoke their license to practice law. In other words, the Justice Bureau can choose to end one's legal career easily. Faced with these threats from the Justice Bureau, few lawyers dare to defy these orders. The CCP court appointed Wei a lawyer who is working on the basis that he is guilty, and he is powerless to hire a lawyer on his own. When Wei's family went to their hometown in Northeastern China to find a lawyer, they were told that the lawyer is unable to submit an innocent plea for him.
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