Heilongjiang Woman Imprisoned, Lawyer Seeking Justice Given Runaround

(Minghui.org) A Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province resident was sentenced to 3.5 years on November 17, 2021 for practicing Falun Gong and taken to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on February 18, 2022. 

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. 

Ms. Liu Lijie

Ms. Liu Lijie was arrested on October 14, 2020 while visiting another practitioner to study Falun Gong’s teachings together. Due to her poor health, she was released on bail two days later. 

Ms. Liu appeared twice in the Xiangyang District Court, first on October 12 and then on November 16, 2021 without legal representation. The judge sentenced her to 3.5 years with a 15,000-yuan fine on November 17. She appealed with the Jiamusi City Intermediate Court, but the judge ruled to uphold her original verdict on January 12, 2022. 

Despite her high blood pressure and other medical conditions, the authorities took her back into custody on January 12 and sent her to Huanan County Detention Center (under the jurisdiction of Jiamusi). She was transferred to the Jiamusi City Detention Center on February 12 and then to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on February 18. 

During the month before she was taken to the prison, Ms. Liu’s lawyer and family spent much effort seeking justice for her, only to be given the runaround.

Request to Seek Physical Examination Report from Detention Center Denied

After Ms. Liu was admitted to the Huanan County Detention Center on January 12, 2022, her lawyer and family demanded the guards disclose her physical examination report, but were rejected.

The lawyer filed a complaint against the detention center with the Huanan County Court, but was told that all local criminal cases were handled by the Jiamusi Railway Transportation Court and that he could only file the complaint with them. 

The lawyer and Ms. Liu’s family went to the Jiamusi Railway Transportation Court on January 19 to deliver the complaint. The receptionist initially refused to accept it, but relented when the lawyer returned the next day and strongly demanded to have his complaint accepted. 

Although the receptionist promised to respond to the complaint in seven business days, the lawyer hadn’t received any update after a month. He went to the court to inquire about the case on February 14. The receptionist said that they couldn’t process the case, as one could only request information disclosure on administrative cases and the law prohibits information disclosure on criminal cases. 

The lawyer argued that there was no such law and what he requested was administrative information in a criminal case. He pointed out the court misinterpreted the relevant law. When he vowed to file a complaint against the court, the receptionist said to him, “Go ahead. You can sue us with the Heilongjiang Provincial Transportation Court.”

On February 17, the lawyer submitted an administrative motion with the Huanan County government and Huanan County Justice Bureau, demanding the detention center reconsider its decision not to disclose Ms. Liu’s physical examination report. The justice bureau contacted Ms. Liu’s family on February 21, also refusing to accept the case with the excuse that information of criminal cases can’t be disclosed.

Denied Visitation

In addition to refusing to disclose Ms. Liu’s physical report, the detention center also prohibited her lawyer from visiting her. 

When Ms. Liu’s lawyer called the detention center on February 15, 2022 to make an appointment to visit her, a female guard surnamed Song rejected him. 

As the lawyer needed to discuss with Ms. Liu in person about filing the motion to reconsider her case, he went to the detention center on the next day to seek visitation, only to be stopped at the gate. 

The lawyer called director Liu of the detention center, who arranged Song to meet with him. Song insisted that there was no way for the lawyer to meet with Ms. Liu, citing the pandemic as an excuse. She added that it was the decision from provincial level officials. The lawyer demanded that she provide a written document about their decision, but Song didn’t agree. Instead, she urged the lawyer to talk to the Heilongjiang prison administration office. 

With the lawyer’s persistent demand, the guards eventually agreed to have Ms. Liu sign the motion, but without allowing the lawyer to talk to her. 

Higher Court Refused to Accept the Motion

After getting Ms. Liu’s signature on the motion on the morning of February 17, the lawyer went to the Jiamusi City Intermediate Court to submit it. He called judge Guo Jianfeng and asked to hand over the motion to him in person, but Guo said he was busy at the moment and asked the lawyer to come back in the afternoon. 

The lawyer returned to the court after lunch. He heard the staff members whispering to each other, “It’s a Falun Gong’s case. We can just let him wait there.” For the entire afternoon, no one came to receive him. When it was close to the end of the business day, he asked the front desk if anyone could talk to him about the case. One person came and refused to accept the motion, with the excuse that the lawyer didn’t have the approval letter from his law firm for him to represent Ms. Liu. 

The lawyer went to the Heilongjiang Province High Court on the next day to submit the motion, but was rejected and redirected him to the intermediate court. 

While the receptionist at the high court claimed that they would communicate with the intermediate court about the case, the lawyer heard another staff member saying in a low voice, “We have a rule from above not to take motions for Falun Gong cases.” 

With no other channel to submit the motion, the lawyer mailed it to the intermediate court on February 25. 

Taken to the Prison

While trying to submit the motion for Ms. Liu, her lawyer and family also went to the Jiamusi City Police Department on February 17 to file a complaint against the detention center for rejecting her visitation. The receptionist at the police department called the detention center to ask about the specifics. Before she mentioned the name, the guard answering the phone directly asked whether it was Ms. Liu’s family and hung up the phone after saying their director wasn’t in the office. When the receptionist called again, no one answered. 

The lawyer was then directed to the appeals office and prison administration bureau, only to be given the runaround.

The next day, the lawyer found out that Ms. Liu had been taken to the prison in the early morning. He went to the prison to see her, but was rejected again. 

Ms. Liu’s husband called the prison on February 23 and demanded to visit her and deliver some clothes for her. The guard answering the phone rejected his request, saying it was due to the pandemic. 

Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Liu has been arrested and detained at least six times. She was also subjected to frequent harassment around major holidays or anniversaries related to Falun Gong. She was given two years of forced labor in 2012 and forced to live away from home after being released to avoid further persecution. The school she worked at suspended her salary while she was in displacement. Due to the mental distress, her father passed away in 2005. Her mother, Ms. Yu Xiulan, who also practices Falun Gong, has also been arrested and detained.

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Zhang Anshun (张安顺), secretary of Heilongjiang Province Political and Legal Affairs Committee and Vice Governor of HeilongjiangGu Songhai (顾松海), head of 610 Office: [phone], [phone]Qu Weijian (曲卫建), head of Heilongjiang Province Domestic Security Office: [phone]Yang Bo (杨波), deputy head of Domestic Security Office: [phone]

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)

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