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The second trial of Wang Bo and her parents from Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province commenced at the Shijiazhuang Intermediate Court at 8:30 a.m. on April 27, 2007 and ended at around 1:40 p.m. Five lawyers, Li Heping, Li Xiongbing, Zhang Lihui, Li Shunzhang, and Wu Hongwei defended the Wang family's innocence based on the constitution of China which guarantees freedom of belief and human rights. They made statements from the legislative aspect, from the judicial process and those pertaining to legal facts. Lawyer Teng Biao audited the trial.
Wang Bo and her parents
The five lawyers were up against tremendous pressure from the Communist regime as they systematically and thoroughly defended three Falun Gong practitioners from various angles. History has recorded their courageous act. The five lawyers utilized their expertise and received wide praise for their courage and wisdom, breadth of spirit and professional knowledge.
1. The Communist Party claims a public trial but police arrested people from the audit seats inside the courtroom
Prior to the trial proceedings, the courthouse was heavily guarded, starting at 8:00 a.m. on April 27, 2007. Security officers stood inside, while regular police and riot police stood outside the gate. Numerous police officers inspected passersby the day before the trial.
The judge told the lawyers that Wang Bo and her parents' case would be tried publicly. Anyone bringing an ID and residence permit was said to be allowed to register for an audit permit the morning of April 26. Overall, 27 people, including some Falun Gong practitioners, applied and received audit permits in line with the judge's requirements. On the afternoon of the same day of the registration, however, all Falun Gong practitioners who had registered for audit permits were harassed. Officials from the Shijiazhuang City National Security Bureau, from the Shijiazhuang City Police Department, from local police stations and also from the Residential Committees went to these Falun Gong practitioners' homes and threatened them, threatening them not to attend the trial. They stated it was "an order from above." They also intimidated the practitioners' families and tried to get them to stop the practitioners from attending the trial. Some practitioners had their personal freedom curtailed.
Around 8:10 a.m. on April 27, people with audit permits started entering the courtroom. Judge Wei Suzhen (female) who was sitting in the audience went out into the hallway and shouted at the security officers, "Why did you let so many people in? What are the cops doing outside?" Soon, three female Falun Gong practitioners were arrested and driven away in a car. Among them, one practitioner protested the illegal arrest in broad daylight and another practitioner shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!"
The defense lawyers confronted the judge asking, "Isn't this a public trial? Why don't you let all 27 people in who received audit permits? How come only these few people are here? Why did you order the arrest of members of the audience?" The judge could not answer and reluctantly let in a few more people. Altogether eight of Wang Bo's relatives were allowed inside the courtroom.
A number of judges and government officials sat in the audience, as well as some police officers who had arrived late. Reporters from the Shijiazhuang City TV Station videotaped the whole process. This is what the Communist Party calls "a public trial."
The arrested members of the audience were released at the conclusion of the trial, but we do not know if all of them were released.
Three police cars took Wang Bo and her parents to and from the courthouse. No less than 600 police officers guarded the area. Martial law was imposed on the entire street in front the courthouse; two rows of police stood on both sides of the sidewalk and in the fast lane. After the three police cars passed, officials from the Shijiazhuang City National Security Bureau arrested Falun Gong practitioner Wu Lei for taking photographs. He was not released.
Due to pressure from the international community and with the voices of outspoken and courageous people, the wicked Party amended the second trial from a secretive process to an "open trial," but in reality staged this farce as described above.
2. Defense lawyers make excellent arguments based on the facts
Wang Bo's lawyer Li Heping pronounced a joint defense statement titled "Based on the Constitution, Belief is Not a Crime" in which the six lawyers (including Lawyer Teng Biao) quoted details and facts as well as historic cases that involved various aspects of the law. Mr. Li Heping wore a lawyer's robe, exuded confidence and fervently presented the statement. The judge rudely cut him off and threatened him many times, but Li Heping's defense was not affected.
When the judge asked, "Does belief in Falun Gong involve the issue of freedom of belief?" Li Heping calmly and firmly answered, "Yes." Judge Liu Bin accused lawyer Li Heping of having "ideological problems."
Public prosecutor Yue Kunlun from the Shijiazhuang Intermediate Procuratorate made many rudimentary mistakes in his questioning remarks and threatened the defense lawyers and blasphemed the law on numerous occasions.
Wang Bo and her mother Liu Shuqin protested in the court without concerning their own safety, "You must not threaten our lawyers!"
The lawyers laid out the facts and made a comprehensive defense based on the inappropriate application of law, lack of facts and evidence, and wrong judicial procedures. Lawyer Wu Hongwei especially made his defense from aspects of both legal principle and human sentiment mentioning that Liu Shuqin was deprived of warm clothing in the winter.
The judge interrupted the lawyers' statement constantly and kept telling the lawyers to "keep it short and concise."
3. Three Falun Gong practitioners acted with their typical, high moral standard
During this second trial, Wang Bo, along with her father Wang Xinzhong and mother Liu Shuqin, recounted the crimes committed against them by the preliminary trial judge and police officers. Although all three of them were tortured, intimidated and subjected to physical abuse to different degrees to extort confession, they still persisted in their belief and resisted the persecution. They acted with the high moral standards reflective of Falun Gong practitioners.
Wang Bo attempted a final statement, but judges Lu Ling and Liu Bin rudely cut her off. The Communist Party again violated the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners.
4. Public prosecutor fails to play "evidence" video in court
Public prosecutor Yue Kunlun from the Shijiazhuang Intermediate Procuratorate provided "evidence." He tried to play VCDs ransacked from Wang Bo's home, but he failed after several attempts. Eventually he was able to play one VCD that showed professor Xin Haonian illustrating Chinese history with background scenes of the Long River, the Yellow River and the meandering Great Wall.
The defense lawyer kindly reminded the public prosecutor to play more VCDs, but the prosecutor only played one VCD out of the 26 confiscated VCDs, and it took a long time. He could not play the so-called evidence used to incriminate Wang Bo and her parents, even at the end.
5. Court police beat lawyer
Lawyer Teng Biao did not participate in the defense because of pressure from the communist officials in the regime. He went to audit the trial out of friendship with the other lawyers, and because he felt sorry for the Wang family. After the trial, the judge started a quarrel with lawyer Li Heping and the other lawyers. Teng Biao was worried about his friends' safety and waited for them to leave together. A group of court police approached Teng Biao and started beating him in the presence of everyone. They did not give him any chance to explain his intention. They violently shoved and beat him to the ground four times, all the way from inside the courtroom to the outside. Four security officers grabbed Teng Biao's arms and legs and lifted him in the air. They tossed him on the pavement outside the courthouse, and swaggered away.
Lawyer Teng Biao wore eyeglasses and a suit. He repeatedly emphasized that he was a lawyer. Members of the public kept shouting, trying to prevent the police from beating him, but the police refused the protest and acted barbarically.
Two court police officers around 20 years of age beat and kicked lawyer Teng Biao until his suit was covered in dust. The larger part of one of his suit sleeves was torn, and his personal belongings were gone. It was said that a good-natured person argued with the police and managed to get the lawyer's computer bag back.
Lawyer
Teng Biao has a Ph.D. degree in law. He is a renowned scholar and a
professor at China University of Political Science and Law. He once
wrote to the National People's Congress and requested removal of the
Shelter and Repatriation System. He was among the recipients of the
title "Top Ten Persons of the Law" in 2003 and was presented with the
International Activist Awards from The Gleitsman Program for Social
Activism by The Gleitsman Foundation.
6. Falun Gong practitioners thank defense lawyers
Close
to the end of the trial, 600 riot policemen emerged from inside
the court. They stood in two rows and imposed martial law on the street
facing the courthouse. A lot of security agents and
plainclothes policemen were inside and outside the court.
The lawyers stepped
out of the court. Falun Gong practitioners and other people squeezed
through the riot police and shook hands with every lawyer, to greet and
thank them.
It did actually happen - the second trial for Wang
Bo and her parents commenced; the six Beijing lawyers were able to make
it to the court, and the family's relatives were able to audit the
trial. Although there was interference, pressure and persecution, the
trial went through due legal procedures. All of it was achieved only
through the effort and support from many, many people inside and
outside China.
On April 27, 2007, Shijiazhuang Intermediate Court held a second trial for Ms. Wang Bo's case. During the trial, four police agents forcibly removed one of Ms. Wang Bo's attorneys from the court. Many residents passing by witnessed the event and were outraged about this anarchic action.
The Wang Bo family simply perseveres in cultivating Falun Gong and following the teachings of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" to be virtuous people. Their pursuits would be legal and considered admirable in any non-communist society, yet in China they were illegally imprisoned and forced to stand trial in court.
The second trial started at 8:30 a.m., and ended at around 2:00 p.m. Six attorneys from Beijing are openly defending Ms. Wang Bo's family. During the trial, however, police agents forcibly carried one of them out of the court room. After the second trial finished, Ms. Wang's family was taken away in a police van so heavily curtained that people couldn't see anything from outside. According to the attorneys, there was no sentence in the second trial and they are waiting for further news.
The judges deployed several dozen police agents on special duties around the court, and they didn't allow anyone to come near the court gate. Many police vans were parked around the court gate, and plainclothes undercover police agents were on site, along with four policemen patrolling around with batons.
Ms. Wang Bo and her parents, Mr. Wang Xinzhong and Mrs. Liu Shuqin, all practice Falun Gong, which has helped them both physically and mentally. Before starting Falun Gong practice, Wang Bo's parents were planning to divorce. After they cultivated in Falun Gong, they changed their minds and the family became harmonious and happy again. However, in the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, Wang Bo's family has been repeatedly arrested, beaten, detained, and forcibly brainwashed. In the end they were sentenced to three years in a forced labor camp. After Wang Bo's family had been torn apart for over six years, they were finally reunited. After Wang Bo openly exposed the unlawful persecution by the 610 Office officials on the Clearwisdom website, Wang Bo's family had to become homeless and live in exile to avoid further persecution.
On the evening of July 27, 2006 police agents from Dalian City National Security Bureau, 610 Office officials, Dalian City police, and Shijiazhuang police all climbed over the wall and broke into Wang Bo's family's temporary apartment in Dalian and illegally arrested Wang Bo and her mother, who were in their underwear. On the morning of July 28 they illegally arrested her father, Mr. Wang Xinzhong. On November 10, 2006, Chang'an District Court in Shijiazhuang City and the Procuratorate illegally put Wang Bo's family on trial, charging them with the so-called "crime of using cult to destroy implementation of law." On February 2, 2007, Wang Bo was sentenced to a term of five years' imprisonment without any legal justification. Her parents, Mr. Wang Xinzhong and Ms. Liu Shuqin, were also sentenced to terms of four years' imprisonment under the same charge. Since no one was notified of the initial trial, Wang Bo's family members couldn't hire anyone to defend themselves.
After Ms. Wang Bo's whole family was sentenced, relatives and friends of the family managed to hire attorneys to defend them. They contacted dozens of law offices, repeating to many attorneys the story of relentless persecution that Wang Bo's family suffered. Finally six righteous attorneys in Beijing were motivated to defend Wang Bo's case. When they submitted their appeal, however, the Beijing Judicial Bureau contacted the attorneys' offices and expressed concern over the case. After that, the National Security Bureau police in Beijing City threatened the attorneys, and some of them were even threatened with termination from their jobs.
Under such pressure, on the morning of March 12 the attorneys
submitted appeal letters cosigned by all of them to the Shijiazhuang
Intermediate Court and Procuratorate, and requested an open second
trial. In the appeal letters they emphasized that the initial trial
process had seriously violated established legal procedures, the
evidence was not sufficient and their case didn't meet the definition
of a "crime" in legal terms or in point of fact. They requested a
retrial at the Chang'an District Court and the Shijiazhuang
Intermediate Court accepted the appeal. However the Shijiazhuang City
Procuratorate refused the appeal using the excuse that the
Procuratorate was not responsible for monitoring a case that was not
openly tried. After interviewing the parties involved in the case, the
six attorneys unanimously found that their clients' versions of the
events differed greatly from the charges. According to the law, if the
client's version of the event was greatly different from the charge or
if there was new witnesses and evidence, an open retrial must be held
for the case.
An experienced children's art teacher, Zhang Yingfu, from Shenzun City, Guangzhou Province, was illegally arrested on April 21, 2007 by the local police. On April 28, 2007, the police from Baoan District arrested several colleagues of Zhang Yingfu and raided their homes, with confirmed news that calligrapher Wen Zuming was taken to the Xili Brainwashing Cass in Shenzun. Other teachers walked out of the danger with righteous thoughts but were forced to leave their homes and became homeless.
Wen Zuming is an excellent hard pen calligrapher. After he was arrested, his unemployed wife and eleven-year-old daughter were left to care for themselves. His house is in a shambles after the police searched and found nothing.
Zhang Yingfu established a top quality artwork class. The Art Education Society recognizes his excellent teaching method and results. Because of the persecution against Falun Gong, the art class has almost stopped running; several hundred students and their classes have been affected.
During the past eight years, Falun Gong practitioners who were illegally detained at the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp suffered inhuman tortures at the hands of the guards. The following are some of the recorded cases:
In 2005, as a protest, Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Liu Guifang, Ms. He Guirong, and Ms. Zhou Ping refused to perform forced labor and stayed in bed. Guards Liu Cunjie, Yang Kuili, and others, dragged them from their beds by their hair. If practitioners refuse to wear the prison uniform (because they are not criminals), they are punished by not being allowed to use the restroom. The following practitioners were punished for various breaches of prison regulations: Ms. Wang Hong, from Huludao was locked in a bathroom until 1:00 a.m.; Ms. Zhou Ping and Ms. Li Lijun were locked in a room and were not allowed to wash for several days; Ms. Wang Shulan (from Tieling), Ms. Liu Huarong (from Shenyang), and Ms. Liu Guifang (from Dandong) were beaten by police because they refused to wear the prison uniform. Several practitioners went on hunger strikes in protest, including Ms. Liu Huarong (Shenyang), Ms. Ren Yun (from Jinzhou), Ms. Wang Min (from Dalian), Ms. Liu Guifang (Dandong), and Ms. Li Yuping (Shenyang). They were barbarically force-fed.
In 2006, Masanjia Forced Labor Camp used various methods to persecute more than 60 Falun Gong practitioners and tried to "transform" them.
Ms. Liang Qizhen, a practitioner from Tieling, was beaten by guard Liu Yong twice because she was helping another practitioner, Ms. Cheng Hua (Dalian), who was in poor health. Ms. Liang's head was swollen and she had black eyes due to the beating. She was also punished by being forced to stand for a long time.
Ms. Li Chunhua (from Fushun) was often punished by being forced to stand. Ms. Liu Qiuying (Dalian) and Ms. Li Shaohua (Fushun) were punished by being forced to stand by guards Zhang Huan and Ren Hong because they did not recite the "30 rules." Ms. Wang Guixiang (Dalian) had high blood pressure (120-210). She was handcuffed for more than 4 hours simply because she refused to take any medicine. After taking the medicine she experienced some side effects, and refused to continue taking it. Then, Director Wang Xiaofeng and Deputy Director Shi Yu forced Ms. Wang to take the medicine.
Practitioners Ms. Shi Guirong (Shenyang) and Ms. Wang Lanfeng
(Dalian)
were force-fed with unknown drugs. The guards shouted, "We will destroy
your gong!"
Ms. Shen Ruolin (Fushun) was locked up in solitary confinement for more than a month. After she was let out, she could not take care of herself for quite a while, and for the next six months her hands and feet were constantly numb.
Jilin Dafa practitioner Ms. Mu Chunmei's teeth were broken after she was force fed on hunger strike. During the 50 days that she was on her hunger strike, she was tortured as authorities attempted to "transform" her. Prison authorities refused to allow her family members to visit.
Practitioner Ms. Jiang Jie (Fushun) was locked up multiple times because she tried to leave in protest of her illegal detention. She went on a hunger strike and the staff tried to force-feed her, perforating her stomach in the process. Ms. Gao Fuling (Dalian) was also tortured and locked up in solitary confinement multiple times. Ms. Liu Xiufeng (from Chaoyang) was beaten and tortured because they discovered she had Master's lecture notes with her. People who participated in the persecution include Liu Yong, Chen Jingmin, Li Mingdong, Yan (surname), Feng (surname), Zhang Jun, Ma Qishan, Wang Qi and Li Jun.
Two practitioners from Jingzhou who are still illegally detained at Nasanjia are Ms. Li Feng Jun and Ms. Xu Huiping.
Currently there are about 100 Falun Gong practitioners being illegally detained at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp suffering persecution. About 20 of them are living among ordinary prisoners and are forced to do heavy labor. Their "normal" working hours are from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. If they do not finish the assigned jobs in time, they are forced to continue until the work load is done.
This is only the tip of the iceberg of the ongoing persecution at
Masanjia Forced Labor Camp.
Since the persecution of Falun Gong began on July 20, 1999, policemen Zhang Guofu and Jin Wanzhi from the Traffic Patrol Division of Shuangcheng City Police Department, instigated by the City CCP Committee Secretary Zhu Qingwen, and the CCP Political and Judiciary Committee Secretary Wang Shuqing, have wildly persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. They illegally arrested Mr. Zhou Zhichang, who was the head of the Militia of Handian Township, and detained him in Shuangcheng City Second Detention Center.
Zhang Guofu tried to force Zhou Zhichang to sign the statement to stop practicing Falun Gong, but Zhou Zhichang refused. Hoping to get Zhou Zhichang back to work for them as soon as possible, township government officials treated Zhang Guofu with dinner, and told him that Zhou Zhichang was a nice person. The Armed Forces Department of Handian Township had many tasks waiting for Zhou Zhichang to handle. However, in the persecution of Falun Gong, Zhang Guofu had lost all of his human nature. He refused to let Zhou go.
 Dafa practitioner Zhou Zhichang from Heilongjiang Province (tortured to death) |
Zhang Guofu's wife ran a small store inside the detention center. He let practitioners' family members shop at his wife's store for daily necessities. A roll of toilet paper was normally sold for one to two Yuan outside, but it was sold for 20 Yuan in her store.
After Mr. Zhou Zhichang was detained for over a month, his family members begged the detention center for his release, and paid the bail. Only then he was released. On September 9, 1999, Zhou Zhichang went to Beijing to appeal again. He went to different levels of Appeals Office to appeal for Dafa. He was arrested and escorted back to Shuangcheng City and detained in the First Detention Center. Shuangcheng City authorities normally put those practitioners who have been arrested twice under criminal charges. The second time Zhou was arrested, he had been put under long-term detention. He was detained in the First Detention Center with the regular criminals, and had to bear the criminals' scolding and beatings. He was put in shackles that were for the criminals on death row. In winter, he could not wear normal warm pants because of the shackles. His family members had to make special pants with zippers on the side to keep him warm.
For eight months, Zhang Guofu would not permit Mr. Zhou's family to visit him. On the morning of May 6, some policemen from Shuangcheng City took Mr. Zhou to Shuangcheng City Hospital for a physical check up. Someone saw Zhou walking inside the check room normally. However, a few hours later, he suddenly died. The doctor who did the check up said that he was already dead when he entered the hospital. Zhang Guofu then told Zhou's family that Zhou died from a heart attack. The autopsy was conducted in the afternoon of May 15. Zhou's family members saw that there were wounds on his head, his scalp, his hands and feet had extravagated blood, and they were black. There were scars on his ankles as well. The shackles on his feet had worn the skin off after a long time, and the bones were clearly visible. All this indicates that Zhou Zhichang was tortured to death.
At the time of the autopsy, many practitioners went there. Zhang Guofu gathered a large group of policemen, six police vehicles and they also brought a video camera. They were ready to arrest the practitioners at any moment. Two practitioners drove a car there. Just because they parked in the spot for a little longer, they were arrested and their car was confiscated.
After Mr. Zhou was tortured to death, the police department authorities told his family that his body would be cremated on the 19th in the First Funeral Home in Shuangcheng City. There are two funeral homes in Shuangcheng City. The First Funeral Home is located inside the area of Shuangcheng Town, and the Second Funeral Home is located in Handian Town. When his family members and relatives were on their way to the First Funeral Home at around 6:00 am on the 19th, their car was forcefully stopped when passing by the Second Funeral Home. They were told that Zhou's body would be cremated in the Second Funeral Home, and the body would be taken there shortly and cremated right away. His family members had no choice but to comply. They asked to take his ashes home and according to tradition, leave it there for three days for family and friends to offer their condolences. However, totally ignoring his family's misery and sadness, Zhang Guofu and the other vicious thugs cremated Zhou's body at around 7:00 am, and then they sent the ashes to the Funeral Home. In addition, they threatened the family and prohibited them from contacting any Dafa practitioners.
Many practitioners from around the area learned about Mr. Zhou Zhichang's funeral, and they went to the funeral home on the 19th. However, they were blocked by the military police from miles away. The policemen also blocked all the roads to the funeral home and would not let any pedestrians or vehicles pass. Over a hundred policemen patrolled the area inside the yard of the funeral home, and over 20 police vehicles also parked inside. It was said that there was a policeman stationed about every ten meters, over 50 of them in all. During that time, if someone else needed to cremate some bodies, they had to present some kind of introduction letter from their work places. What's more, if someone wanted to enter the funeral home, they all had to curse Falun Gong, otherwise they would not be allowed to enter. The mother of the former head of Shuangcheng City Education Bureau needed to be cremated on the same day, so an old woman got a chance to go with their vehicles to enter the funeral home to look for her daughter (a practitioner). But the policemen forced her to loudly curse Falun Gong. They used this method to find out whether she was a practitioner.