Court authorities engaged in various activities to interfere with defense attorneys' ability to defend their client including delayed entry, illegal searches and seizures,  and closing a public trial without notice.

Ms. Fei Jinrong Suffers Mental Collapse as a Result of Persecution by CCP Judiciary System

Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Fei Jinrong and Ms. Dai Yarong from Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province were arrested on November 22, 2008. Ms. Fei was sentenced to four years while Ms. Dai was sentenced to two years. Ms. Dai was released after she was tortured to the brink of death. Ms. Fei was transferred from Suibin County Detention Center to the 2nd Detention Center in Hegang City. After only six months, she suffered a mental collapse from the persecution. The detention center did not want to shoulder the responsibility so they let family members take Ms. Fei home on May 1, 2009.

Ms. Fei Jinrong is 60 years old, with a head full of white hair. She used to be a section chief at the Shuangyashan City Audit Bureau. She was a straight arrow, warm and kind towards others. After practicing Falun Gong, Ms. Fei escaped the torment from decades of health problems and gained a new life. After the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008, she personally gave her employer 300 yuan for disaster relief even though she was already retired. This action touched the hearts of the supervisors and coworkers.

After the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong, Ms. Fei Jinrong was sentenced to a labor camp in 1999 and 2002, the second time she was imprisoned for three years. Both times were at the Jiamusi Forced Labor Camp in Heilongjiang Province. In the labor camp, the elderly Ms. Fei suffered many humiliations and was tortured countless times. Because she maintained her belief, the labor camp increased her sentence by 130 days. Ms. Fei was released in late May 2005. For details, please see Clearwisdom article on December 28, 2008, "A 60-year-old Woman Is Imprisoned Again after Being Persecuted Many Times."

Ms. Fei Jinrong and Ms. Dai Yarong went to Yongle Village, Suibin County, Hegang City on November 22, 2008 to distribute truth clarification materials. Around 10 a.m., they were reported by someone who was deceived by the CCP's propaganda. They were arrested by the Domestic Security Team of Suibin County Police Department and taken to Suibin County Detention Center. The people directly involved in the persecution include Lu Jiansheng, chief of Suibin County Police Department, and Domestic Security Division officers Zhang Zhenqiang, Gao Tiejun, Bi Shiqiang and Chen Zhonghou. The two seniors cautioned the police to not be deceived by the CCP into participating in the persecution. However the police insisted on detaining them in Suibin County Detention Center and the authorization for arrest was created shortly thereafter. The police said, "It's better if you don't hire a lawyer. If you hire a lawyer from Beijing, we will give you a heavier sentence."

On the morning of January 13, 2009, Suibin County court held a trial for Ms. Fei and Ms. Dai. There were only four or five family members in the audience. Ms. Fei defended her innocence herself. In her speech, she described in detail how having a belief is not a crime, that Falun Gong is righteous and how the CCP is violating the constitution and trampling on the law recklessly. However the judge did not allow practitioners to defend themselves, saying that Ms. Fei's words should be directed at more senior personnel. The judge interrupted Ms. Fei's defense many times, and didn't let Ms. Fei finish reading her statement.

On March 10, 2009, Suibin County court sentenced Ms. Fei Jinrong to four years and Ms. Dai Yarong to two years. While she was in Suibin County Detention Center, Ms. Dai was beaten until she vomited blood. Only when she was in critical condition was her family allowed to take her home. Ms. Fei refused to accept the sentence and asked to appeal. However due to unknown reasons, Suibin County Judicial and Public Security Division suddenly transferred Ms. Fei to the 2nd Detention Center in Hegang City. According to reports, Ms. Fei was forced to sit on a steel chair for many days without sleep at the 2nd Detention Center. She was verbally abused and beaten by the criminals in the same cell. It is not known what other type of torture she may have been subjected to. In only a few months time, she suffered a mental collapse.

Letter from Six Lawyers Exposes Illegal Activities of Hejiang County Court in Sichuan Province

At 9:00 a.m. on May 19, 2009, the Hejiang County Court in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province held a public trial of Mr. Wei Fengming and five other Falun Gong practitioners. The six defending lawyers, Mr. Tang Jitian, Mr. Liu Wei, Mr. Wen Haibo, Mr. Li Subin, Mr. Li Jinglin, and Mr. Dong Qianyong arrived at the court on time. However, the court set up two obstacles denying the lawyers access to the trial.

The first obstacle was at the gate of the court. First, seven or eight bailiffs guarded the half-meter wide gate, examining people's ID if they tried to enter. They asked the lawyers to show the notice of trial or else they wouldn't be allowed to pass. After much discussion, the bailiffs let them through. In fact, the court never sent the notice of the trial to the lawyers. However, lawyer Mr. Li Subin was expelled from court because the presiding judge, Zhang Ke, would not allow him to be there, using the reason that there were already enough lawyers. Second, what was originally a public trial became a closed trial as the bailiffs denied access to any audience. This violated the rules of a public trial. At the same time, the court arranged for staff to video record the audience that gathered and waited at the gate. Court video recording is used in the trial, the monitoring of audience outside the court completely violated conventions. If the recordings were used illegally, then the court would have to bear all responsibilities for the violation of civil rights.

The second obstacle was set at the entrance to the court. The bailiffs once again asked to see the notice of trial or else the lawyers would be denied access. The lawyers explained that they didn't receive any notice, but the bailiffs ignored their explanation and wouldn't notify the presiding judge in the court. The bailiffs did not follow the law, they followed the illegal directions of the head of the court. Second, they asked the lawyers to cooperate with this court's own security measures. Not only did the lawyers have to go through the normal security inspection, but bailiffs also searched their bags, their bodies and confiscated all of the metal objects they carried. However, some special plainclothes officers were allowed to enter and leave the court without going through security. The treatment of the lawyers was the same as that given to criminal suspects. These illegal discriminatory treatments eventually caused the defense lawyers to be unable to perform their duties in the trial.

The Supreme People's Court's document "People's Court Bailiff Security Inspection Rule," sixth provision, first section reads, "Effective inspection of credentials and registration should be performed on the public prosecutors, lawyers and others attending trial to perform their respective duties." This provision clearly states that bailiffs may only inspect the credentials of the lawyers, they may not inspect their bodies or belongings. The chief justice, vice-chief, and over ten other judges and bailiffs of the Hejiang County Court publicly defied the law. They recklessly encroached upon the attorneys' legitimate rights. The most unreasonable and overbearing people were chief justice Wang Hong, vice-chief Yuan Hailiang, and executive judge Tang Xianrong.

The illegal actions by the Chief Justice of the Hejiang County Court and others not only publicly discriminates against the lawyers, they are an affront to the accused's right to legal counsel. Even though the court was trying the accused on charges of obstructing the law, the court staff publicly challenged and damaged the implementation of the law. Their actions not only are an infringement of the accused's rights, they also damage the rule of law and create a very negative impact on society. Given that Chief Justice Wang Hong, Vice-Chief Yuan Hailiang, Executive Judge Tang Xianrong, and Presiding Judge Zhang Ke conducted illegal acts during this trial, including not opening the trial to the public and impeding the lawyers' entrance to the court, we request that the related authorities investigate these four men according to the law. We request that a legitimate response be provided to the lawyers, and a legitimate compensation be provided to the accused.

The complainants request:

1. An investigation into the illegal abandonment of responsibilities by Chief Justice Wang Hong, Vice-Chief Yuan Hailiang, Executive Judge Tang Xianrong, and Presiding Judge Zhang Ke;

2. An apology from the two chiefs, executive judge, and presiding judge to the six lawyers;

3. A confirmation that the May 19, 2009 trial was illegal and invalid;

4. A resumption of the public trial of this case.

Sincerely

Complainant:
Mr. Tang Jitian: 86-13161302848 (Cell)
Mr. Liu Wei: 86-15901371049 (Cell)
Mr. Wen Haibo: 86-13811778770 (Cell)
Mr. Li Subin: 86-15811200660 (Cell)
Mr. Li Jinglin: 86-13693283418 (Cell)
Mr. Dong Qianyong: 86-13366373454 (Cell)

May 26, 2009