(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Jiao Meishan, 55, is a staff member at the Shijiazhuang Casting Pipe Factory in Hebei Province, which was formerly called Shijiazhuang Casting Boiler Factory. Currently he is being detained at the Shijiazhuang Second Detention Center. Mr. Jiao Meishan was illegally arrested on March 3, 2006 and charged in September 2006. Xinhua District Court began a trial on November 30, 2006, but then the trial was closed. Therefore, it has thus far lasted for six months. Eight months have passed since the court accepted and heard the case. It has been one year and three months since Mr. Jiao's arrest, and his detention term has gone well beyond the limits of the law.
Mr. Jiao's family made the following demands: that Mr. Jiao be released on bail immediately, that he is cleared of all charges based on the lack of evidence, and that an investigation be conducted on the authorities' holding Mr. Jiao well beyond the legal limit.
On March 3, 2006, officers from the Shijiazhuang Police Department, 610 Office, Xinhua District Police Department, Lianmenglu Police Station and Changan District Police Department arrested Mr. Jiao Meishan and illegally detained him at the Second Detention Center.
In May and June of 2006, due to lack of sufficient evidence, the Xinhua District Procuratorate sent Mr. Jiao's case back to Lianmenglu Police Station and did a supplementary investigation of the case twice.
In late September 2006, officer Luo Wanqun from the Indictment Section of Xinhua District Procuratorate delivered Mr. Jiao's case to the Xinhua District Court for sentencing. Zhang Tao of the No. 1 Criminal Court, Xinhua District Court, is in charge of handling this case.
Mr. Jiao Meishan's family members subsequently submitted the following request:
1. In accordance with the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" and in accordance with Article 162 of the Criminal Law, the court should declare Mr. Jiao not guilty due to lack of evidence. The authorities conducted supplementary investigations twice and detained him for fifteen months. The court closed the trial for six months and could not deliver a verdict, which shows that they lacked sufficient evidence. Mr. Jiao Meishan should thus be set free.
2. Due to the extended detention, Mr. Jiao Meishan should be released on bail at a minimum. In accordance with the stipulations of Criminal Law, the Procuratorate sends the charges to the court, and normally, sentencing takes place within two and a half a months. Otherwise, they exceed the term of handling a case, which creates an extended custody situation.
Xinhua District Court accepted and heard Mr. Jiao Meishan's case eight months ago, and the trial has been closed to this day, which makes this an extended custody situation. Mr. Jiao should be released on bail according to existing law.
3. Investigate the criminal responsibility for the persons who extended Mr. Jiao's prison term
In accordance with Article 7 of the regulations on arrests and detention in the proceedings of the Procuratorate as set forth by the Superior People's Procuratorate, if the criminal suspect and his legal representative, close relatives or the lawyer appointed by the criminal suspect and other attorneys believe it is an extended custody situation, they have the right to appeal to the People's Procuratorate that made the decision to arrest or the Superior People's Procuratorate, and request to discontinue the forced detention. The detainees can make an appointment with the inspectors to receive an extended custody hearing.
In accordance with Article 8, persons who break the Criminal Law and this stipulation, misuse their authority or are responsible for and extend the prison term of a criminal suspect, should be investigated and disciplined. In accordance with Article 397 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, the persons who misuse their authority and display negligence should be investigated for criminal responsibility.
Applicants: Jiao Meishan's wife: Wang Fengcun
Jiao Meishan's son: Jiao Shujie
Address: 11-2-301, Xinhaocheng Neighborhood, Shijiazhuang City
Phone number: 86-311-86695090
Attachment
Strongly Urging the Release of My Father Jiao Meishan
My father Jiao Meishan, 57, is an employee at the Shijiazhuang Casting Pipe Factory. In 1995 he fell from a high location at work and was paralyzed. The doctor said my father would have to spend the rest of his life in bed. Suffering from this accident, my father tried to commit suicide several times, and my family was in great despair. After my father started practicing Falun Gong, his health miraculously recovered. My family members were able to resume their formerly happy days. But after July 20, 1999, because my father was persistent in practicing Falun Gong, the police and the street officer came many times to harass him. He was forced to leave home, and he was arrested on March 3, 2006. On November 30, 2006, the Xinhua District Court held an illegal hearing regarding my father. Due to lack of sufficient evidence, the case was delayed until now. On the day of the court hearing, I found my father could not stand straight, and he was very thin. Both his physical and mental condition was very bad. My whole family is very worried. My father has now been illegally detained in the bad environment of the detention center for almost a year. He is close to 60 years old. His body once suffered severely and he was paralyzed. Now that he is not allowed to practice Falun Gong, his old illness could easily recur. Wouldn't this push him back to the hopeless condition both physically and mentally? Our family can no longer tolerate this type of persecution. We strongly urge the release of my father, Jiao Meishan!
I remembered that on March 24, 1995, I was fifteen years old, and was studying in middle school. After I came home from school, I learned that my father had lost his balance and fallen while in a high-elevation operation, and was in the emergency room at the Third Hospital. I was scared by the urgent situation and hurried to the hospital. My mother was in a daze and my father was moaning continuously. In addition, my father was in so much pain that he often lost consciousness.
My father was in the Orthopedics Section of the Hebei Province Third Hospital for six months. During that period, his work unit dispatched nine people, and three or four relatives nursed my father together with his colleagues every day. More then ten people tended to and protected my father, taking turns each day. Due to the failure of an operation, in the early months, he was in pain and often lost consciousness. We considered that if my father continued staying in the hospital and accepting therapy, there would be no improvement, and it would cost his work unit a lot of money. Thus, my father decided to leave the hospital on September 18, 1995.
After coming back home, my father was paralyzed and bed-ridden. He was in a bad mood and often became angry. He had to depend on my mother for all his daily needs. My mother cleaned the bedpan for him every day and was saddened and wept secretly. Previously my father was the only person in the household with an income, and now my whole family was in despair. When my father believed that he had to spend the rest of his life in bed and could not support the family, and could even be a burden to the family, he was in a great despair. He tried to commit suicide several times. In the evenings my mother and I took turns staying with him, and we dared not fall asleep because we were afraid that my father would commit suicide.
On September 18, 1996, a friend introduced Falun Gong to my father. From that moment he has been strict with himself in following the principles of Falun Gong. Only three months later, my father was able to stand up again and go out to do the exercises. Furthermore, his heart disease and stomach problem disappeared. His face was full of smiles and we were all very happy, and we appreciated Falun Gong. The leaders of my father's work unit came to our house to visit him. They asked my father to go to the hospital to have an examination, and my father replied excitedly, "Since I started practicing Falun Gong, my health is becoming better and better. I will not burden you any more. It is Falun Gong that has given me another new life." Upon seeing the miraculous change of my father the leaders of his work units were all glad for us. My father has not spent one cent for medical expenses in the last ten years.
However, on July 20, 1999, the newspaper and TV began to criticize Falun Gong. All the people around us had witnessed that from simply practicing Falun Gong my father became confident in life and very happy, even though he was previously paralyzed and tried to commit suicide several times. Wasn't CCTV telling lies? Falun Gong teaches practitioners to be a good people according to "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," and of course it is better to have more and more good people. After my father started practicing Falun Gong, it was obvious that he was more high-spirited than before, and he has always kept a peaceful mind and been full of energy. From a health perspective, he has at least saved our country a lot of medical expenses. After practicing Falun Gong my father's difficult disease has been cured, and at the same time his practice saved a family. Cultivating Falun Gong has many benefits and does no harm. We really don't understand why the government spares no effort to persecute Falun Gong.
We actually could not find an appropriate reason to prevent my father from practicing Falun Gong. We had no choice but to remind him to pay attention to safety. We often heard however that Falun Gong practitioners were sentenced to forced labor or prison, so we were still worried about him very much. When the sensitive days came, the police and the street office came to harass him, which made us anxious. The situation lasted until early 2003, at which time my father had to leave home and became homeless to avoid further persecution. Even though my father had left, the police still monitored the house. I missed and worried about my father very much, and I was afraid that my father's illness would return if he was arrested and not allowed to practice.
My fear was realized. On March 3, 2006 my father was arrested and detained at the Second Detention Center. The Xinhua District Procuratorate held a hearing and wanted to sentence my father, but due to lack of sufficient evidence, in late May 2006 my father's case was sent back to Lianmenglu Police Station. We have often explained the situation to the related units and departments. My father is well known to be a good person. Why do the police arrest good people? After practicing Falun Gong, my father regained his new life, so he has no reason to give up his belief. At present they still lack sufficient evidence, so they should release him immediately. However, the Xinhua District Procuratorate, Xinhua District Police Department and Lianmenglu Police Station shifted the responsibility onto each other. On November 30, 2006, the Xinhua District Court held an illegal hearing regarding my father. Due to lack of sufficient evidence, the case is still delayed.
On the day of the court hearing, I noticed that my father could not stand straight, and he was very thin. Both his physical and spiritual condition was very bad. He is close to 60 years old. After practicing Falun Gong he has become a good person and became healthy and fit. Who would he harm? They arrested, interrogated, attempted to "transform" him, detained him, and even held a hearing to sentence him. This persecution has lasted for almost a year. He is an old man and has suffered severely both physically and spiritually. In addition, he was once paralyzed. He has now been illegally detained in the bad environment of the detention center, which amounts to putting him in a deadly situation.
In early 2007 I submitted a document entitled, "Strongly Urging the Release of My Father Jiao Meishan," but to this day we haven't received any news.
On May 9, 2007, the Xinhua District Court delivered my father's case to the Shijiazhuang City Intermediate Court to examine and approve, but they did not tell us the details. We had to ask in person.
On May 11, 2007, we went to the Shijiazhuang City Intermediate Court, and they replied that this case should go back to Xinhua District Court to hear. They were shifting the responsibility to each other.
Here, I request that the related units and personnel consider that my father is close to 60 years old and was once paralyzed. I strongly urge the immediate release of my father Jiao Meishan.
Applicant: Jiao Meishan's son: Jiao Shujie
Address: 11-2-301, Xinhaocheng Neighborhood, Shijiazhuang City
Phone number: 86-311-86695090
Court director of Xinhua District Court, Shijiazhuang City: Guo Xiao, 86-13315995605 (Cell)
Office telephone of Xinhua District Court: 86-311-87038637 86-311-87039433 (Office)
Criminal Court: 86-311-87018949, 86-311-87030843
Head judge of this case, Zhang Tao: the No. 1 Criminal Court, Xinhua District Court
