Lawsuit in the Shenhe District Court in Shenyang City Dismissed After Practitioners' Attorneys and Colleagues Get Involved

The Domestic Security Division of the Shenhe Police Department, together with the local police, arrested more than ten Falun Gong practitioners from September to November 2009. Among them were Huang Xiaojie, Ma Guoqi, Guo Hongyan, Wang Yuchun and Feng Dafu. They were detained in the Shenyang City Detention Station while awaiting trial.

The family of Wang Yuchun hired a lawyer and as a result was harassed by the Shenyang 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong). Four people from the Shenyang 610 Office forced Wang's family members to appear in Shenhe District Court. Judge Li Hong presented the family with a prepared dismissal of counsel agreement, and used lies and threats in an attempt to force them to sign the agreement.

The supervisor and staff of Wang Yuchun's workplace, after hearing that Wang was arrested, appealed together to the Shenhe Police Station, asking for the unconditional release of Wang. They also collected and donated 5,000 yuan¹ and mailed the money to the Shenyang Detention Station. Apparently, Wang Yuchun has not received the money yet, and is currently awaiting bail.

The family members of Ma Guoqi, Guo Hongyan, Wang Yuchun and Feng Dafu heard that the Shenhe District Court wanted to have the trial before the Chinese New Year of 2010. So in the middle of January they hired two attorneys. These two attorneys soon started their work, met the practitioners in the detention centre, and quickly obtained evidence of the persecution that the victims suffered.

The Shenyhe District Court was intimidated by the involvement of the lawyers. On Feb. 5th, 2010, Judge Li Hong suddenly informed the attorneys about the dismissal of the case. After the Chinese New Year, the family of Guo Hongyan visited the Shenhe District Procuratorate and confirmed that these cases were already returned to the Shenhe Police Department. The attorneys reminded the families that the Shenhe District Police Department may appeal. It is possible that the police will block the attorneys from getting involved again and they may hold the trial in secret.

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/2010/2/27/218929.html