(Minghui.org) When Mr. Sui Yanzhang was released in April after enduring seven years of imprisonment for his belief in Falun Gong, he returned home to find his wife and fellow Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Xu Yingjie, illegally detained and hospitalized.
Seeking his wife's release, Mr. Sui paid multiple visits to the local police station, Political and Legislative Affairs Committee (PLAC), Procuratorate, and court. When he inquired about his wife's case at the Dongchang District Court on June 12, 2014, he was informed that Ms. Xu had been sentenced to three years in prison.
Mr. Sui alleges that the Court and PLAC officials violated due process multiple times during the legal proceedings.
Family Denied Verdict, Appeal Window Cut Short
When Mr. Sui told Judge Yang Wancheng on June 13 that the verdict had not been delivered to the detention center, Judge Yang indicated that the verdict would be delivered within ten business days and refused to release a copy to Mr. Sui.
Secretary Qiao Jiucheng of the Dongchang District PLAC informed Mr. Sui that his wife had until June 21 to appeal the sentence, after which he would be allowed to visit her.
Mr. Sui says that this deadline is short of the legally required ten-day appeal window starting the day after a ruling. Because the judge acknowledged on June 13 that the verdict had not been delivered to the defendant, the appeal deadline should have been June 24 at the earliest.
Detention and Hospitalization
Ms. Xu was arrested on December 22, 2013 for distributing calendars containing information about the Chinese regime's persecution of Falun Gong. Her health declined rapidly at Changliu Detention Center.
When guards took her to the Central Hospital on February 28, 2014, she was not able to walk. She was then hospitalized at around March 4, 2014 at Tonghua City No. 3 Hospital. Her family says they were never notified of her health condition or hospitalization.
Short Notice of Trial Date
Ms. Xu's family visited the Procuratorate on March 3, 2014, where the next day an assistant procurator named Li Dongming told the family that the case had been filed in court that day. On March 5, Judge Yang told the family that the trial was scheduled for March 7 and that only three family members were allowed to attend.
Mr. Sui says that because the trial was held only three days after the case was filed in court, it violated Article 182 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which stipulates that “a copy of the indictment should be delivered to the defendant and the defense attorney 10 days prior to the trial day at the latest.” Given this time line, even if the family had hired an attorney immediately, he would not have had an adequate amount of time to prepare a defense.
Hearing Conducted in Hospital Ward
Due to Ms. Xu's poor health, the trial was held in her ward. On March 7, Judge Yang, Procuratorate Li Dongming, local 610 Office personnel, officials from the local police station and detention center, and Ms. Xu's family and attorney all gathered at the hospital.
A court-assigned defense attorney was also present and demanded that Ms. Xu's attorney be dismissed. Due to Ms. Xu's consent and her family's persistence, the court assigned attorney was eventually replaced by the family's attorney.
Even though Ms. Xu was disoriented and her hand twitched so much that she couldn't sign her name, Judge Yang tried to proceed with the trial. However, the defense attorney objected based on the defendant's health condition. Ms. Xu's doctor, citing excessive mental stress on the patient, then drove everyone out of the ward. The hearing was thus adjourned prematurely.
Judge Yang gave Ms. Xu's family a copy of the case file, but not the medical diagnosis. He said the trial would resume 10 days later. When the attorney met with Ms. Xu later that day, she experienced spasms three times during the half-hour meeting and reported pain all over her body.
Ms. Xu's sister went to the court on March 10 and asked to see the medical diagnosis, but was refused by Judge Yang. When pressed further, Judge Yang yelled at her and had guards physically remove her from his office.
PLAC Officials Tricked Ms. Xu into Dismissing Defense Attorney
At the end of March, Zhao Shujun of the Dongchang District PLAC handed Ms. Xu's family a letter written by Ms. Xu herself. In the letter, she requested that her family dismiss the defense attorney and expressed willingness to use an attorney assigned by the PLAC.
Her family says they were baffled as to why she changed her mind so quickly. It was later revealed that Qiao and Zhao of the PLAC had lied to Ms. Xu. They offered her a light sentence and even release on bail in exchange for dismissing her own attorney. Her attorney acknowledged that officials in the judicial system and the local PLAC have also pressured him to withdraw from the case.
Despite the promises by the PLAC, Ms. Xu was sentenced to three years in prison during the second hearing held on April 8. She was transferred to Jilin Women's Prison on July 3.
Repeated Persecution
Ms. Xu lives in Tonghua City in Jilin Province. She had been arrested and sentenced for her belief in Falun Gong multiple times since the regime launched its persecution in 1999.
In 2007, Ms. Xu and Mr. Sui were both arrested at home sentenced to four and seven years in prison, respectively. Their daughter was in high school at the time and was taken in by relatives until Ms. Xu was released in 2010.
Ms. Xu's latest three-year sentence came just a month before her husband's term ended. After a seven-year wait, the couple's reunion remains on hold.
Perpetrators involved in this case of persecution:
Wang Yongqing (王永清), arresting officer from Laozhan Police Station: +86-15804359871 (cell)Shi Yuanfu (师元博), director of Laozhan Police Station: +86-435-3461303 (office), +86-13089199555 (cell)Li Dongming (李洞明), assistant procurator at the Dongchang District Procuratorate: +86-435-3207859 (office)Zhang Lei (张磊), procurator at the Dongchang District Procuratorate: +86-18643590715 (cell)Zhao Yan (赵岩), presiding judge at the Dongchang District Court: +86-435-3947289 (office), +86-15844587666 (cell)Yang Wancheng (杨万成), judge at the Dongchang District Court: +86-435-3947229 (office), +86-13844582848 (cell)
