Lawyer Wang Yonghang in Dalian City defended Falun Gong practitioners who were persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. As a result, police broke into his home and arrested him and his wife. His wife and elderly mother were also physically assaulted.
The arrest happened at 5 p.m. on July 4th, 2009. As Wang's wife was heading out the door to go shopping, a group of unidentified thugs broke into their home and pushed her down to the ground. Wang's mother, about 80 years old, was also pushed down to the ground and could not move. They could not see the faces of the attackers. When asked what they were trying to do, nobody answered. Over twenty people ransacked their home. Wang Yonghang and his wife were both taken to a detention centre.
It has been learned that people who participated in the arrest included the national security team in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, over twenty policemen from Dalian Public Security Bureau, Shahekou Police Branch and Jinxiu Police Station, and also Secretary Shi in Jinxia Community. Materials confiscated from Wang Yonghang's home included a desktop computer, a camera, a printer, three USB drives, several phone cards, and Falun Gong books.
Their family members went to the police station to ask for the couple's release, but the police refused to reveal where they were. In addition, wherever the family went, policemen in plain clothes would beat them. Wang Yonghang was detained in Yaojia Detention Centre in Dalian city. Under strong appeal of his family members, people who arrested Wang Yonghang gave them a detention notice. On July 5th, Wang Yonghang's wife was released. Her mother-in-law, traumatized by the situation, fell ill.
On July 6th, Wang Yonghang's wife went to Secretary Shi in Jinxia Community to ask for information and help. However, Secretary Shi found policeman Li Youzeng in their community to beat and insult her, and arrested her again. They took her to Jinxiu Police Station. Wang Yonghang's wife asked about Wang's whereabouts several times. She was finally told that Wang was detained in Yaojia Detention Centre in Dalian city.
On July 6th, Wang Yonghang's wife and mother went to Yaojia Detention Centre in Dalian city to visit Wang. The detention center personnel searched the women several times before finally admitting that someone by the name Wang Yonghang was detained there. But they did not confirm his identity, and refused to let them see him. Wang Yonghang's mother and wife had to leave some clothes, and left 400 yuan1 in the account of "Wang Yonghang" without confirmation that it was the right person.
Before that, Wang Yonghang was followed by many people. On June 16th, Wang Yonghang defended as the second attorney for Falun Gong practitioner Cong Rixu at Ganjingzi Court in Dalian City, together with attorney Han Zhiguang from Beijing. His court debate was reasonable and justified, with nothing in rebuttal from the prosecution. On June 20th, Wang Yonghang and a friend finished their lunch and waited outside for someone. A young man came and tried to take a photo of Wang with his cell phone. When Wang looked at him, he quickly put away his mobile phone. After a while, a taxi stopped nearby Wang. There were at least three people inside, but no one got out of the taxi and the windows were tinted.
In any civilized country, anyone who is accused of committing a crime has the right to hire a lawyer to defend themselves, and the safety of the lawyer must be protected by law. This is a basic law in modern society. We hope people who know anything about Wang Yonghang could provide us the information. Meanwhile, people of conscience and human rights organizations, please pay close attention to the situation and urge the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to release Wang Yonghang immediately, and help protect the freedom and fundamental rights of Wang and his family.
Officials who participated are as follows:
Li Zhaoqun, director of Jinxiu Police Station
Li Youzeng, policeman in Jixiu police station, local policeman in Jinxia Community
Sun Xianliang, policeman in Jinxiu police station
Tan Yuhao, policeman in Jinxiu police station
Yue Zhenzhong, detective in Jinxiu police station
Bai Yun (female), detective in Jinxiu police station
Ge Maoquan, policeman in Jinxiu police station
Shi, secretary in Jinxia community
Note
1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/7/11/204371.html
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