(Minghui.org) A 63-year-old man in the Qiaodong District of Xingtai City remains detained following his arrest more than one year ago.
Mr. Zhang Mengjie was charged with “using a cult to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime in its attempt to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.
Mr. Zhang credits Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, for helping him quit smoking and drinking. Despite the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong, he never wavered in his faith.
The local police seized him on September 26, 2016, and he appeared in court on November 8, 2017. His lawyer entered a not guilty plea for him, as no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong. The presiding judge refused to acquit Mr. Zhang and ordered him to remain incarcerated.
Mr. Zhang’s family recently filed a criminal complaint against the following five people for arresting, detaining, and indicting him without any legal basis:
-Officers Zhang Hongkang (no relation to Mr. Zhang) and Wu Shuqi with the Qiaodong District Police Department Domestic Security Office. They arrested Mr. Zhang without showing any ID or an arrest warrant. They also searched his home without producing a search warrant.
-Director Qiu Youlin of the Xingtai City Legal Education Center. Although his facility is not a legal detention center, he cooperated with officers Zhang and Wu to detain Mr. Zhang for 43 days until the latter was moved to Xingtai City First Detention Center on November 8, 2016, to serve criminal detention. Mr. Zhang’s family argued that director Qiu and officers Zhang and Wu are all guilty of falsely imprisoning Mr. Zhang.
-Prosecutors Shi Lina and Liu Jinghua of the Qiaodong District Procuratorate.They alleged that Mr. Zhang’s possession of Falun Gong books broke the law, citing two notices issued by China's Administration of Press and Publications in July 1999 to ban the publication of Falun Gong books. His lawyer refuted the allegation in court, noting that the Administration issued a repeal of the ban in 2011 and that it was legal for practitioners to own Falun Gong books. The lawyer further emphasized that Mr. Zhang’s possession of Falun Gong books caused no harm to anyone, let alone undermined law enforcement.
The complaint was submitted to the Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Hebei Province Procuratorate, Xingtai City Procuratorate, and Xingtai City Discipline Committee.
Mr. Zhang’s family made the following demands in their complaint:-Bring the five defendants to justice;-Clear all charges against Mr. Zhang and release him unconditionally;-Compensate Mr. Zhang for his economic losses and emotional suffering; and-Issue a public apology to Mr. Zhang.
Related Report:China Administration of Press and Publication Repealed Its Ban on Publication of Falun Gong Books in 2011
