Beijing Falun Dafa Practitioner Bu Dongwei Sentenced to Two and One Half Years of Forced Labour Based on Fabricated Evidence

On the evening of May 19th, 2006, Haidian Public Security Branch Bureau arrested Mr. Bu Dongwei, a Falun Dafa practitioner from the Haidian area in Beijing. As a staff member of the Beijing office of the U.S. Asia Foundation, Mr. Bu Dongwei was responsible for providing legal assistance and counselling for farm workers at the U.S. Asia Foundation. This young man is well recognised for his kindness and honesty. The heavy workload at his job and at home meant that he rarely had the opportunity to get out and be in touch with the outside world.

On August 15th, Mr. Bu's family received a "Statement of Reeducation through Labour" from the Legal System of the Haidian Public Security Branch Bureau, Beijing Public Security Bureau. The statement claims Bu Dongwei had hidden 80 copies of so-called Falun Gong "propaganda material" and thus was sentenced to two and one half years of forced labour. His family stated that they had only had several copies of Falun Gong books and didn't have any other materials. Also, when the security personnel made the arrest, they had only asked Bu Dongwei to turn in the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party ¹ without mentioning anything about the so-called Falun Gong "propaganda materials."

There are many reported cases of Falun Gong practitioners being arrested based upon fabricated evidence contrived by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) law enforcement offices. Analysts point out that when the CCP arrest people like Bu Dongwei, there is an internal policy or special arrangements made to persecute Falun Gong practitioners as soon as possible. Since the CCP Central Committee formulates the persecution policy of Falun Gong, many executors consider it is natural to have this type of law violation.

Below is an appeal document written by Bu Dongwei's wife. The document was submitted to the Reappraisal Section, Legal System Office, Beijing City People Government: 86-10-65193457, post code: 100744.

Besides administrative reappraisal, the party concerned can also pursue administrative law and sue in court.

Appeal Document

Applicant: Bu Dongwei, male, 36, a staff member of the Beijing Office of the U.S. Asia Foundation

Agent: Lou Hongwei, female, 37, Bu Dongwei's wife

Re-appraiser: The Re-Education through Labour Management Committee, Beijing City Peoples' Government (to be abbreviated as the Committee below)

Request of appeal: Revoke the mistake stated in the "Statement of reeducation through labour" by the Committee and protect the legal rights of the appealer.

Our family received the "Statement of reeducation through labour" on August 15th (2006 Beijing Labour Trial No. 2654) sent by the Legal System Section, Haidian Branch Bureau, Beijing City Public Security Bureau. After careful study of the statement, I decided to make an appeal for Bu Dongwei. Below are statement of the facts and reasons:

The Statement "Violating the Law" is Not Consistent with the Facts

The accuracy of fact considered by the litigant is the crux of determining penalty. The statement indicates the "fact of law violation" by Bu Dongwei as: The Haidian Public Security Branch Bureau claimed they found Bu Dongwei to be in possession of 80 copies of Falun Gong "propaganda materials" hidden in his home. This statement is inconsistent with the facts. When I called home on May 20th, my parents told me that seven to eight policemen from the Haidina Public Security Branch Bureau came to our home on May 19th and wanted Bu Dongwei to hand over the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party . They said to Bu Dongwei, "You better hand over the book, otherwise it will be more difficulty for you if we find it." Bu Dongwei replied that he didn't have the book. Personnel from the bureau then said, "Then we'll search!" They didn't find the book after the search. What they found were three copies of Falun Gong books, and several copies of an old Minghui Weekly. They also took away computers belonging to Bu Dongwei and our family.

Upon hearing the news, I called Ganjiakou Police Station and Xinhuiwuye Company and talked to people who were involved in the arrest. They confirmed the kind and number of materials confiscated from my home. That is to say, the so-called 80 copies of Falun Gong "propaganda material" are nonexistent.

Besides, the Statement says that the Haidian Public Security Branch Bureau firmly believed that Bu Dongwei had hidden 80 copies of Falun Gong "propaganda material" in his home. If that is the case, why did they want him to hand over the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party , instead of the Falun Gong "propaganda materials" when they made the arrest? And how did they know ahead of time?

Applicability of Law Article

The statement claims that sentencing of Bu Dongwei for two years and six months of forced labour was based on Article 13 of the State Department's "Decision of the State Council Regarding the Question of Reeducation Through Labour" and "Trial Implementation Methods for Reeducation through Labour." Rather than exploring whether Article 13 is in conflict with the Constitution of People's Republic of China, or applicable to the decision of penalty, let us review "Trial Implementation Methods for Reeducation through Labour" contained in this article.

Article 13 states that the time limit of reeducation through labour shall range from one to three years depending on the fact of crime, nature, synopsis, motive, and degree of harm done. The time of the reeducation through labour starts from the day of notification. If the person was taken in for investigation or detention earlier, each day shall be credited.

Article 13 is obviously an illustrative provision, rather than applicable for determining degree of penalty. I don't know how this article could possibly be used to sentence Bu Dongwei to two years and six months of reeducation-through-labour?

Unlawful Procedure

It is against procedure to make an arrest prior to collecting evidence. Neglecting to give family members any written notice or statement of account (the verdict statement is the only written statement), and not allowing Bu Dongwei to consult his lawyer were also unlawful. The date of the verdict statement is June 19th, but the family did not receive it until August 15th. The delay exceeds the reasonable time according to the law.

A penalty case must go through an investigation to obtain evidence and certify facts, and give the litigant the right to defend himself before the final verdict can be decided. After the verdict, the litigant has the right to appeal. But Bu Dongwei was deprived of all of these rights. I had called Haidian Public Security several times and pointed out they had seriously violated many procedures. Police who answered the call told me, "If you feel I was violating the law, you can sue me at the higher level office. If you feel that Bu Dongwei's verdict was in error, you can appeal to the Re-Education through Labour Management Committees of Beijing City People Government."

I hope that between the administrative redress and the administrative suit, that this affair can be conducted in a reasonable and rightful manner.

Bu Dongwei is a kind person. He has been subsidising several children associated with Project Hope to go to school and had made donations to the project for planting forests in the western part of the country. His classmates, colleagues and friends all give him high appraisals. He works hard at his job, is responsible to his family, and has never done anything unlawful. He is a benefit to society. If such a person is sentenced to serve forced labour, I think it's unfair in principle.

Based on the above, I believe that the Committee has violated the principle of law "based on fact and take law as the criterion." I therefore request that the government to revoke the decision of the Committee and maintain the plaintiff's personal freedom and freedom of belief.

I sincerely hope that you will protect decent people and do what is within your power.

Agent for reconsideration: Bu Hongwei (Bu Dongwei's wife)

Note

1. Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party: Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party is a series of essays published in late 2004 that reveal the true nature of the Communist Party. The Nine Commentaries have led millions of people to renounce their membership in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). "A book that has shocked all Chinese around the world. A book that is disintegrating the Communist Party." http://ninecommentaries.com

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/8/24/136333.html