District Court in Mudanjiang Illegally Intimidated Lawyers and Expelled Defendant’s Family

• published: 16 Feb 2015
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Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/cnforbiddennews Like us on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/chinaforbiddennews A district court of Aimin District, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province recently illegal tried Falun Gong practitioners Guan Rian and Zhang Yutang. The court purposely created difficulties for defense lawyers and defendants’ family members by sitting in on the trial in an illegal and reckless manner. When a defendant’s family member questioned the court’s violation of law, she was forced out of the court by guards. Let’s look at the following report to see what and why the Aimin district court did what they did. At 9 a.m. on Feb. 13, Xi Xiangdong and Shi Fulong, defense lawyers for Falun Gong practitioners Guan Rian and Zhang Yutang, were held by court guards and forced to undergo security inspection at the court entrance. Xi Xiangdong: ”We were also required to leave the laptop out of the court, as the guard said ‘this is a recording and videotaping equipment.’ Of course we didn’t agree. Wherever we go, lawyers are exempt from security check according to law. Our laptop is also a necessary tool for our work during trial.” Xi Xiangdong said court guards completely ignored the rules issued by the Supreme Court which were displayed on the court wall. The judge Jiang Bingbing even placed inquisition records on them, claiming that the lawyers ‘did not follow security inspection rules.’ The judge further intimidated lawyers by claiming that they would be regarded as giving up defense rights if they did not enter the court immediately. The two lawyers tried their best to argue the issue. At 10 a.m., they were finally given access to the court after the court’s vice dean intervened. Xi Xiangdong futher revealed the story when they visited the district court this January to read case records. At that time, Judge Jiang Bingbing also told them that lawyers had to undergo security check, and only allowed the lawyers to take manual notes instead of taking photos or making copies of the documents. The Aimin district court is also accused of conducting many illegal procedures during the trial. Two more defense lawyers, Tang Jitian and Jiang Tianyong, were not notified of the trial. The court also allowed up to two family members for each defendant to sit in on the hearing, which is also unlawful. Defense lawyers Xi and Shi reminded the judge that holding a court session without the other two lawyers is violation of law. However, the chief judge ignored the warning, and further expelled Zhao Xin, defendant Guan Rian’s wife, from the court during the trial. The judge forcibly stopped the trial three times, without any reason for two of the stoppages. During recess, Zhang Yutang and Guan Rian were taken out of the court for over 10 minutes. When the two defendants returned to court, their mental status had significantly changed. According to family members of Zhang and Guan, Zhang Yutang was aided by court a guard when entering the court and Guan Rian walked in by himself. Both appeared to be in a good mental state. Guan Rian also asked why the other two defense lawyers were not present. However, when the trial re-convened at 1 p.m., Zhang Yutang had to use a wheelchair to enter the court; Guan Rian looked sedated and frequently gave no response to lawyers’ questions. Zhang also struggled when reading his defense statement. Chief judge Ji Ming asked Zhang to drink some water. However Zhang could hardly speak soon after that, holding his head in pain. The chief judge demanded a hasty medical examination but then continued the trial, announcing that, “nothing is wrong with Zhang’s health.” Zhang Yutang’s wife Zhang Cuixia stood up to contest the court decision. However, she was forced out of the court by four or five guards. Zhang Yutang did not react to the incident. During the previous hearing, Zhang had acted very different as he protested for a long time when his wife was violently treated. Lawyer Tang Jitian commented that the court tried all possible ways to obstruct lawyers’ work as well as suppress rights of defendants and their families. The authority intended to scare away lawyers and defendants to stop them from uncovering the party’s crimes and unlawful acts, said Tang. Tang Jitian: ”Strictly speaking, Guan Rian and Zhang Yutang’s cases are not really legal. The authority simply tries to defame and demonize these practitioners in the name of law and in the form of trial.” The experience of Guan Rian and Zhang Yutang has been frequently seen during the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 16-year persecution of Falun Gong. 《神韵》2015世界巡演新亮点 http://www.ShenYunPerformingArts.org/