(Minghui.org) A husband’s effort to seek justice for his imprisoned wife is in limbo after Jilin Province Superior Court demanded a signed power of attorney from his wife, but the prison authorities refused to make her available to sign the document.
Ms. Wang Shuqiu, 66, was arrested on October 25, 2016, for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. Her lawyer was pressured into entering a guilty plea for her during the trial on January 19, 2017.
The local Changyi District Court never informed Ms. Wang’s husband of the verdict. It wasn’t until late May that he received the verdict from the court. He noted that his wife had been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on May 11.
As no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong, Ms. Wang’s husband hired a new lawyer to fight for his wife’s constitutional right to freedom of belief. The Jilin City Intermediate Court soon ruled to uphold the original verdict, without seeking the lawyer’s opinion or holding a hearing as required by law.
Ms. Wang’s husband proceeded to file a motion to reconsider the case, while the lawyer filed a complaint against the intermediate court for depriving him of his legal right to represent his client in the appeal process.
Ms. Wang’s husband met with the judge assigned to the case on August 8 and received no update on his wife. He visited the local detention center on August 16, but his wife was nowhere to be found. Only then did he learn that his wife had been transferred to prison days ago.
The Jilin City Intermediate Court rejected the motion for reconsideration soon afterward. Ms. Wang’s husband questioned the validity of the ruling, but the judge asked him to talk to the local police and procuratorate. He tried the latter agencies, only to be referred back to the intermediate court.
Ms. Wang’s husband then decided to file a motion with Jilin Province Superior Court. He visited the court on September 25 but was told that he must produce a power of attorney signed by his wife. He went to the prison, but the guards denied access to his wife.
According to China’s appeals law, three categories of people may file motions to reconsider cases, and they include the convicted, their legal representatives, and their close family members. The superior court is thus illegally denying Ms. Wang and her husband their right to appeal by requiring a power of attorney.
Related Report:Defense Lawyer Pressured to Enter Guilty Plea for Falun Gong Practitioner