Recently, two lawyers were invited to see the judge of the Heilongjiang Province Nongken Intermediate Court. They expressed their views and requested an open court session for the second trial of five Falun Gong practitioners.
On the morning of November 13th, 2008, the two lawyers had a meeting with two officials from the intermediate court, who pressured them not to represent Falun Gong practitioners. The lawyers refused. Afterwards, the court officials suggested that the Falun Gong practitioners be sentenced to forced labour camp terms without an open court trial. Obviously, the court's suggestion was not founded on the rule of law. The lawyers replied to them, "If you don't have an open trial, we will appeal the court decision and sue you for delinquency. Forced labour terms have no legal grounds. The Falun Gong practitioners committed no crimes and violated no laws. We will appeal to the highest level. If the intermediate court decides to skip the open court trial, that would be an obvious violation of the law and a prime case of under-the-table operations." The lawyers demanded the second round of the trial be open, to correct the first trial's wrong conviction, and to acquit the practitioners.
Five Falun Gong practitioners from Jiansanjiang, including Shi Mengwei, Chen Dong, Tian Baoyu, Yu Fengxian, and Sun Yan, were arrested and tortured for telling people about the persecution of Falun Gong. The Nongken Intermediate Court of Jiansanjiang charged them with "utilizing an evil cult to sabotage law enforcement" at the first trial and sentenced them to prison terms. Shi Mengwei was sentenced to 5.5 years, Chen Dong 4 years, Tian Baoyu 4 years, Yu Fengxian 3 years, and Sun Yan 3 years. During the trial, Shi Mengwei and Chen Dong did not plead guilty. Tian Baoyu intended to appeal the sentence. Sun Yan's family also asked the court for a release and intended to appeal the sentence. They found four lawyers with a righteous sense of justice to represent them and argue for acquittal. The appeal letter was filed on August 3rd, 2008, at the Nongken Intermediate Court located at No. 82 Hanshui Street, Nangang District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. These practitioners are currently being held at the Jiansanjiang Detention Centre.
The Nongken Intermediate Court tried to find fault with the four lawyers many times. The lawyers had no fear and filed the appeal case several times with various government units, including the Nongken Law Enforcement Bureau. They did their best to counteract and break through various resistance and pressure in order to uphold the law and justice, and to protect the victims' legal rights.
Under the Chinese Communist Party's rule, judges don't have the right to impartially judge a case. The courts and judges are directed by the local Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Committee for Politics and Law Enforcement. For the cases of Falun Gong practitioners, the judges can only act according to the CCP's intent. The sentencing results are predetermined internally even before the trial begins.
Nongken Intermediate Court, Heilongjiang Province
Office of the court director: 86-451-55198667
Office of the deputy court director: 86-451-55198670
Wei Dongling, judge: 86-451-55193142 (Office), 86-13936437948 (Mobile)
Han Dong, judge
Song Deshuang, head judge
Li Jiangying, director of the Nongken Court of Jiansanjiang: 86-454-5710006, 86-13512606789
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/11/24/190381.html
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