Judge Appoints Two Lawyers Against Falun Gong Practitioner’s Will and Orders Them to Plead Guilty for Him

(Minghui.org) Mr. Jiang Minghui’s wife hired a lawyer for him after he was indicted for his faith in Falun Gong. Both Mr. Jiang’s wife, who had applied to be his family defender, and his lawyer had plans to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf. The presiding judge, however, refused to allow them to represent him and appointed two other lawyers to enter a guilty plea for him instead.

Mr. Jiang, 50, from Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, was arrested on August 4, 2021, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. His wife, Ms. Wang Xiaojing, received a call from officer Li Dong two days later and was told that her husband had been put under criminal detention and charged with “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to indict Falun Gong practitioners.

After the Chengguan District Procuratorate approved Mr. Jiang’s arrest on August 20, Ms. Wang submitted a letter to officer Li, urging him and others involved in the case to release her husband. She argued that there is no law in China that says practicing Falun Gong is a crime and that the National Press and Publication Administration lifted the ban on Falun Gong publications in 2011. As such, the Falun Gong books and materials found in their home could not be used as evidence to prosecute Mr. Jiang.

Mr. Jiang’s wife, mother, and brother went to the police station and the procuratorate to seek his release. After learning that the police had officially submitted Mr. Jiang’s case on September 9, 2021, they submitted a letter to prosecutor Zhang Jing on September 13, urging her to dismiss Mr. Jiang’s case. Mr. Jiang was indicted anyway.

When Ms. Wang submitted her application to the court on September 6, 2022, to be Mr. Jiang’s family defender, judge Teng Xiaoqiong denied her request with the excuse that he had already appointed two lawyers to represent Mr. Jiang.

Ms. Wang wrote to one of the court-appointed lawyers, Ma Pengbin, of the Yuanchengtong Law Firm, telling him that she refused to acknowledge his legal representation of Mr. Jiang because she had already hired a lawyer. Ma responded that she didn’t have the authority to hire any lawyer herself and that he needed to hear from Mr. Jiang himself.

On March 28, 2023, the judge summoned Mr. Jiang and deceived him into signing the document accepting the two court-appointed lawyers.

Mr. Jiang was scheduled to appear in the Chengguan District Court on April 7, 2023. Details about the hearing aren’t clear.

Mr. Jiang, a former deputy director of Lanzhou City Machinery Bureau, was previously arrested in December 2004 for distributing Falun Gong materials and sentenced to seven years by the Chengguan District Court in July 2005. He was fired by the Machinery Bureau and his ex-wife divorced him.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Teng Xiaoqiong (藤潇琼), judge, Chengguan District Court: [phone]Ma Pengbin (马鹏斌), lawyer with the Yuanchengtong Law Firm: [phone]

Related reports:

Having Served Seven Years for His Faith, Gansu Man Faces Prosecution Again

The Hidden Persecution Inside Lanzhou City Third Detention Center

Mr. Jiang Minghui Has Been Tortured for Two Years in Lanzhou Prison