Mr. Ban Sanyuan Sentenced, Appeal Ignored by the Court

Mr. Bai Sanyuan is a Falun Gong practitioner from Jinxia Village, Pingbao Town, Jingyuan County, Baiyin City, Gansu Province. A group of police applied tear gas on him in his own barn on the evening of May 16th, 2010. After Mr. Bai was overcome by the gas, police arrested him and detained him at the Jingyuan County Detention Centre. Because of his hunger strike to appeal, police handcuffed and chained Mr. Bai to a "tiger bench"¹ on May 24th for nine days. He was not taken off the the tiger bench until he was in critical condition. Police sent Mr. Bai to Jingyuan County Hospital on June 1st. His right leg was chained to an iron bed. Plainclothes police took turns to watch him 24 hours a day in three shifts, with two people on each shift. Due to the persecution during his detention, Mr. Bai's face had become yellow and dark. He was very skinny and the left half of his body became numb.

The Jingyuan County Procuratorate initiated the process to bring Mr. Bai's case to court on June 22nd. Even though Mr. Bai was not present, the court held a hearing on June 23rd and sentenced him. The following people attended: Ye Shengwang (chief judge), Su Benlu (deputy judge), Li Chunping (deputy judge), Du Zhize (secretary), and Zhao Caixia (appointed attorney, from Zhengping Law Firm in Baiyin City).

With one leg chained to an iron bed and one arm hooked up to an IV, Mr. Bai wrote a document appealing the court's decision without giving him the benefit of a defence, as well as requesting his unconditional release. The appeal was ignored by the court.

In response, Mr. Bai went on a hunger strike on June 28th, 2010, the 35th day of his detention. By this time, the left half of his body was numb with muscle atrophy in his left leg from previous torture, and his right leg was chained to the bed. The head of Jingyuan County Hospital notified the court that Mr. Bai's condition was life-threatening.

The same day, the chief criminal judge from Baiyin City Intermediate Court arrived with eight people. They attempted to ignore the appeals process and close his case prematurely by saying that Mr. Bai missed his chance for an appeal.

In his appeal, Mr. Bai wrote the following points: "There is nothing wrong with improving oneself to be a better person; there is nothing wrong with following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance; having a belief is not a crime. Falun Gong guides people to uplift their minds, improve their moral level, and become better people. Nothing I do violates the Chinese constitution or law. On the other hand, it is unlawful for any organisation, agency, or individual to interfere with or deprive me of my rights."

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/7/3/226404.html