The Nangang District Court in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province held a trial for Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Li Zhigang at 9:00 a.m. on June 22nd, 2009. The judge, Song Chengzhang, resorted to bullying methods to obstruct lawyers in every possible way from defending Mr. Li.
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| Mr. Li Zhigang |
Harbin City practitioner Mr. Li Zhigang was with friends in his home on February 28th, 2009 when the 610 Office1 head Li Shuxin, accompanied by police from the Nangang District Domestic Security Division and Xinglu Police Station, broke open the front door and arrested him. The Nangang District Court scheduled a trial for Mr. Li at 9:00 a.m. on June 22nd.
Mr. Li's mother asked Beijing lawyer Mr. Jiang Tianyong to provide a not-guilty defence. However, to date the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) still has not allowed Mr. Jiang to pass the 2009 lawyer licence exams. This forced Mr. Li's mother to find another lawyer, Mr. Li Changming, also from Beijing, to defend her son.
At 8:30 a.m. on June 19th, Mr. Li Changming went to the Nangang District Court and talked to Song Chengzhang, the judge responsible for this case. The lawyer requested copies of the case records, but Song did not allow the lawyer to make photocopies, and only allowed the lawyer to review them on site. After Mr. Li delivered the document granting his authority to represent Li Zhigang, Song changed his mind saying that this situation required a briefing with the presiding judge. When Song returned, he said that Mr. Li Zhigang must sign the document before the lawyer can be changed.
On June 19th, around 10:30 a.m., Lawyer Li Changming along with another lawyer went to Nangang District Detention Centre to visit the detained Mr. Li Zhigang. After all the paperwork was complete, a person claiming to be the director of the detention centre came out and said that the Domestic Security Division denied the visit.
Mr. Li Changming rushed to the Nangang Domestic Security Division to resolve the issue, but they said that the case had already been passed to the court, and it was no longer in their jurisdiction. They claimed that they did not have the authority to deny the visit.
It was already noon when the two lawyers returned to the detention centre. Since that day happened to be a Friday, and the coming Monday was the date of the trial, Mr. Li Changming was very worried, so he waited nearby. At 1:30 p.m., the two lawyers headed to the detention centre again. The person claiming to be the director appeared again and reiterated that the Domestic Security Division denied the visit.
Mr. Li Changming immediately called the Domestic Security Division captain, Wang Liguo, with the person claiming to be the director right beside him. The response he received was that the Domestic Security Division had not denied the visit. At this time, the so-called director was forced to speak the truth. The judge denied the visit, and the detention centre couldn't help the lawyers, so the lawyers needed to go find the judge.
Mr. Li Changming called Song Chengzhang again. Song said, "We are in a meeting," and hung up and didn't answer the phone again. Lawyer Li never got the chance to see Mr. Li Zhigang.
The trial is set for June 22nd. The director of the Nangang District Detention Centre and judge Song Chengzhang denied the lawyers' right to speak with the accused and review the case records. This is a blatant disregard for the law by those who should be enforcing the law.
Nangang District Court in Harbin City:
Song Chengzhang, Judge: 86-137-96685933 (Mobile), 86-451-82721457 (Office), 86-451-82502616 (Mobile)
Last name Sun, first name unknown, Chief Justice: 86-451-82700399
Wang Liguo, Captain of Nangang District Domestic Security Division: 86-13354515677 (Mobile)
Note
1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/6/23/203279.html
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