(Minghui.org) Ms. Yang Fengyan and Ms. Duan Xiuyun were arrested on the morning of August 31, 2016. Both women are still being held and have been indicted.
Their attorneys were finally able to meet them in late October, after being given the runaround by officials. Both women are in the Wulanchabu Detention Center in Inner Mongolia.
Right to Representation
Ms. Yang is from Liangjietai Village in Huai'an County, Hebei Province. Her attorney met with her on October 31, 2016, and found out that she had already been indicted by the Xinghe County Court and Procuratorate on October 26.
The attorney immediately went to Xinghe County Court that afternoon to submit the required papers to represent Ms. Yang. The papers, however, were not received by the court. He then called the courthouse, but no one answered.
He went to the Xinghe County Procuratorate and the Xinghe County Appeals Office on November 1 to submit a complaint letter accusing the Procuratorate of impeding his client's legal right to hire an attorney. He also mailed the complaint letter to eight other government departments.
Legal Rights Impeded
Ms. Duan is from Pingyuanbao Village in Tianzhen County, Shanxi Province. Her family hired an attorney from Beijing to defend her.
The attorney tried to visit her on September 21, 2016, but officials at the detention center refused to let him in, using the excuse that he did not have the police department's “permission.” The attorney then went to the police department's Domestic Security Division to negotiate several times with Zhao Guijin.
The next day, the attorney went to the detention center again, but was not permitted to meet with his client because Ms. Duan's case was said to involve “national security and safety.”
Ms. Duan's family members were notified by Zhao Guijin on the morning of September 30 to go to the police station and sign her arrest warrant, but they refused to cooperate.
After countless attempts to visit his client, Ms. Duan's attorney finally met with her on October 27, 2016, and was informed that she had already been indicted.
Ms. Duan's family then went to the courthouse to find out more about her case, but security personnel refused to let them enter the building. The officials related to Ms. Duan's case also did not answer their call.
The family and the attorney went to the courthouse again the next day, but to no avail. Thus, the attorney could not submit the papers needed to represent his client in court.
He made a verbal complaint to the appeals office with the Xinghe County Procuratorate.
Parties involved in persecuting the two women:Qi Chunlei (齐春雷), attorney general of Xinghe County ProcuratorateLi Ping (李平), head of appeal's office at Xinghe County Procuratorate: +86-13948496148Zhang Zhonggui (张忠贵), president of Xinghe County CourtZhao Guijin (赵贵金), domestic security division of Xinghe County Police Department: +86-13947445612Ji Qing (吉庆), Xinhe County Appeal Office: +86-13948947221
