Crimes of Shi Quan, Chief Judge of the Second Division of Changchun Intermediate Court’s Criminal Court

(Minghui.org) Sanctioning human rights abusers has become a consensus among democratic countries. After the U.S. passed the Magnitsky Act in 2016, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the 27-member-country EU enacted similar laws. Australia and Japan are also working on similar laws.

In accordance with these laws, Falun Gong practitioners have compiled lists of perpetrators involved in the persecution the past few years. Every year, they submit several lists to democratic governments, urging them to sanction the named perpetrators.

Starting on July 14, 2021, Falun Gong practitioners in more than 30 countries have been submitting the latest list of perpetrators involved in the persecution of Falun Gong to their respective governments, calling for sanctions on these human rights abusers, including denying entry into their countries and freezing their assets overseas.

One name on this list is Shi Quan.

Perpetrator Information

Full Name of Perpetrator: Shi (last name) Quan (first name) (Chinese: 石泉)Gender: MaleCountry: ChinaDate/Year of Birth: November 1971Place of birth: Unknown

Title or Position

May 2009: Deputy Chief Judge of the Administrative Trial Division of the Changchun City Intermediate Court in Jilin Province

June 2012: Deputy Chief Judge of the Second Division of the Criminal Court of Changchun Intermediate Court

August 2014 to present: Chief Judge of the Second Criminal Court; member of the Judicial Committee; senior judge of the third level

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s persecution of Falun Gong has no legal basis. Article 300 of the Criminal Law – “using or organizing a cult to undermine implementation of the law” – has been used extensively to charge Falun Gong practitioners, although no explanation is given as to which “law” is “undermined” or how. Many of the Chinese judges serve as rubber stamps and deliver pre-determined prison terms to sentence practitioners.

Background:

Since former CCP leader Jiang Zemin launched the persecution on Falun Gong practitioners in July 1999, the Second Criminal Court of the Changchun City Intermediate Court has actively participated. The court takes orders directly from the Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the 610 Office, two agencies tasked with carrying out the persecution. District courts and county courts in Changchun take orders from the Second Criminal Court. Many Falun Gong practitioners were wrongly sentenced to prison, where they were brutally tortured and even killed.

Main Crimes:

Since June 2012, Shi Quan, as deputy chief judge and later chief judge of the Second Criminal Court of Changchun City Intermediate Court, has been carrying out orders from the Political and Legal Affairs Committee and 610 Office to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Under his direction, the intermediate court upheld the original verdicts or even increased the prison terms when the practitioners filed appeals. Shi also prevented the practitioners’ families and lawyers from reviewing their case documents and seeking justice for them.

According to available statistics, from 2012 to 2017, Shi Quan and the Changchun Intermediate Court upheld the prison sentences of at least 40 Falun Gong practitioners, some of whom were targeted in multiple mass arrests.

For example, eight practitioners arrested between October and November 2012 were tried on October 11, 2013, and all were sentenced to prison: Mr. Liu Wei to 12 years, Ms. Zhang Guozhen to 10 years, Mr. Yang Hongbiao to nine years, Mr. Chang Baojun to eight years, Ms. Wang Yajuan to eight years, Mr. Xiu Jixue to seven years and six months, Ms. Su Xiufu to seven years, and Ms. Yang Weijuan to seven years. When they appealed the verdicts, the Changchun City Intermediate Court upheld every one in April 2014.

On September 21 and 22, 2016, 12 practitioners in Dehui City, Jilin Province, were arrested. In 2017, 10 of them (eight of them women) were sentenced to from one to seven years. All of them appealed to the Changchun City Intermediate Court. In November, the court announced that they would uphold all 10 verdicts. Shi Quan was one of the two judges who handled these cases.

Below are more examples of cases in which the sentences for practitioners were upheld or even increased.

Case 1: After Ms. Liu Shuyan’s Appeal Was Denied, She Died in Prison

Ms. Liu Shuyan of Yushu City was arrested on November 26, 2015, and sentenced to three years in prison on April 11, 2016. She appealed to the Changchun City Intermediate Court and was turned down. She was taken to Jilin Province Women’s Prison in Changchun on July 7, 2016. In prison, she was tortured and forced to sit on a small stool for extended periods of time. Guards also force-fed her for 12 straight days. Her health quickly deteriorated. She passed away on April 21, 2017.

Case 2: Sentence Increased for Ms. Han Xueyan

Ms. Han Xueyan, then 70, was arrested in September 2018. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison in July 2019. After she filed her appeal, the Changchun City Intermediate Court judge added two years to the original sentence. Ms. Han was taken to Changchun Women’s Prison in November 2019.

Case 3: Mr. Li Wei’s Sentence Upheld

Mr. Li Wei was arrested in June 2013. He was interrogated and his home was ransacked by officers with the Domestic Security Office. In December, the court secretly sentenced Mr. Li to five years in prison. He filed an appeal with the Changchun City Intermediate Court. The judge refused to accept his lawyer’s Power of Attorney, saying that his lawyer would only be allowed to represent him if he entered a guilty plea for Mr. Li. On April 4, 2014, the judge denied Mr. Li’s appeal. Mr. Li was taken to Jilin Prison and forced to sit on a small stool for extended periods of time.

Case 4: Ms. Pang Li Sentenced to Seven Years

Ms. Pang Li was arrested on June 3, 2013. In October, the Chaoyang District Court sentenced her to seven years. Her appeal to the Changchun City Intermediate Court was denied. Ms. Pang was taken to Jilin Province Women’s Prison in 2014.

Case 5: Court Prevented Ms. Fu Guihua’s Attorney from Representing Her

Ms. Fu Guihua was arrested in June 2013 and later sentenced to three years in prison. She appealed to the Changchun City Intermediate Court. The court prevented her attorney from reviewing her case documents. On June 6, 2014, the higher court secretly upheld her original sentence. After she was taken to Jilin Province Women’s Prison in September 2014, Ms. Fu was tortured for upholding her faith. Within a month, her health deteriorated. She was diagnosed with hepatitis, her height shrunk by 10 cm, and she suffered from severe swelling in her legs and feet.

Case 6: Ms. Fu Yanfei Sentenced to Three Years in Prison and Tortured

Ms. Fu Yanfei, then 42, was arrested in March 2015 and sentenced to three years in prison in May 2016. She appealed to the Changchun City Intermediate Court. On July 26, judges Shi Quan and He Fu secretly upheld her original sentence without holding a hearing. Neither Ms. Fu’s lawyer nor her family were informed. Ms. Fu was tortured severely in Jilin Province Women’s Prison, including being beaten and locked in solitary confinement for many days.

Case 7: Four Practitioners Sentenced

Practitioners Sun Yong, Wang Yongqing, Zhang Wenfu, and Zhang Wenqiu were arrested in Changchun on March 9, 2016. A local court secretly sentenced Sun Yong to a seven-year prison term, Wang Yongqing to five years with a 40,000-yuan fine, Zhang Wenfu to three years with a 5000-yuan fine, and Zhang Wenxiu to 18 months. They all filed appeals with the Changchun City Intermediate Court, and all of them were turned down.

Case 8: Mr. Sun Jinghe Sentenced to Five and a Half Years

Mr. Sun Jinghe was robbed by four thugs with knives on the evening of January 25, 2017. They beat Mr. Sun and injured his head, left eye, and left leg. Mr. Sun refused to give them money. When they saw Falun Gong materials in Mr. Sun’s car, they called the police. Instead of arresting the thugs, the police arrested Mr. Sun. The thugs were then made “witnesses” to Mr. Sun’s “crime” of promoting Falun Gong. In September, Mr. Sun was sentenced to five and a half years and fined 10,000 yuan. His appeal to the Changchun City Intermediate Court was rejected.