Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Forces Lawyers Defending Shanghai Jiaotong University Professor to Withdraw from the Case

Name: Guo Xiaojun
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Occupation: University professor
Date of Most Recent Arrest: January 7th, 2010
Most Recent Place of Detention: Baoshan Detention Centre
City: Shanghai
Persecution Suffered: Sleep deprivation, home ransacked, interrogation, detention

A lawyer for Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Guo Xiaojun was notified on June 25th, 2010 by Shanghai Baoshan Court that Mr. Guo would be tried at 9:15 a.m. on July 6th. Mr. Guo was a professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University in the computer science department before he was arrested and tortured for practising Falun Gong. His family asked three lawyers to appeal for him, but all three lawyers withdrew due to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Mr. Guo is now on his fourth lawyer.

Mr. Guo Xiaojun was arrested on January 7th by officers from the Shanghai Baoshang Police Department for practising Falun Gong. His home was searched and personal property was confiscated, including a laptop computer, MP3 player, and USB drives. When the officers presented their search warrant, Guo's family members noticed that the address on the document was not theirs, and began to ask questions. An officer then took the warrant from them and tore it up. Immediately following, they filled out a new search warrant with their address. Officer Yi Xiaoqian told the family that if they reported this incident to the Minghui website [Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net], they would be arrested.

Guo Xiaojun's family hired a number of lawyers after he was arrested. The first lawyer was from Beijing. After he met Mr. Guo, he was contacted by Beijing Justice Bureau officers, who talked with him. Under pressure, he obtained a dissolution to leave his client. Mr. Guo's family then hired another lawyer. After this lawyer encountered much pressure from the CCP, he also resigned. The family then hired a third lawyer. He ultimately resigned due to CCP pressure also. Mr. Guo's family is on the fourth lawyer.

Mr. Guo's family discovered that Guo was being tortured to renounce Falun Gong while detained, and demanded that the Baoshang Procuratorate release him, but soon afterward his family received notice from Shanghai Baoshang Court that Mr. Guo would be tried.

During this time, Guo Xiaojun was detained at the Baoshan Detention Centre. He told his lawyer that guards deprived him of sleep for a long time, and threatened that his wife would be arrested and his son would be sent to a far away location. He was forced into writing a statement admitting his "guilt," and ended up developing high blood pressure and losing his eyesight due to the mistreatment.

Mr. Guo's family requested bail for the pending trial because of his health, but were refused. His family also asked Baoshan Court officers to return the personal property that was taken, but the officers refused, citing that the items were related to Falun Gong.

Mr. Guo Xiaojun had previously been sentenced to a five-year term at Shanghai Tilanqiao Prison beginning in August 2000.

Relevant phone numbers:

Baoshan Detention Centre:
Supervisor Jin: 86-21-56608111
Baoshan Procuratorate:

Officer Lu: 86-2166862798
Chen Weidong: 86-21-56691990-2305
Baoshan Court:
Judge Xu Minfang: 86-21-56863544
Judge Zheng: 86-21-56604808-3044

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/7/2/226343.html