Qingdao Judge: "I Gave You a Three-year Sentence Because You Hired a Lawyer"

Name: Shang Dexing
Gender: Male
Age: 65
Address: 156 Ningxia Avenue, Apartment 11-2-601, South District, Qingdao City
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 3, 2010
Most Recent Place of Detention: Qrdingdao No. 2 Detention Centre
City: Qingdao
Province: Shandong
Persecution Suffered: Detention

On May 3rd, 2010, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Shang Dexing was arrested by officers from the Zhonghanbianfang Police Station in Laoshan District because his seven-year-old grandson gave someone a Falun Gong CD. He was sent to Qingdao No. 2 Detention Centre on the afternoon of May 4th. On June 9th, the Laoshan Division of the Qingdao Police Station officially approved the arrest. He was tried in Laoshan Court on August 5th.

Interference Before the Trial

Mr. Shang's family hired two lawyers from Beijing. The lawyers met Mr. Shang and he signed the papers which authorized the lawyers to work on his case. The judge, Yu Yong, denied the lawyers' requests to read the criminal file. His answer was that the defence lawyer can only be accepted after being reported to the president of the court. On the morning of July 26th, 2010, lawyer Mr. Li Subin went to see the judge to go though the application procedures to defend Mr. Shang as a relative. The judge denied the lawyer's request to defend as a relative.

Judge Yu Yong and Wang Zhishuang went to the detention centre to see Mr. Shang. They concealed their identities. They lied to Mr. Shang by saying that his family didn't want to hire a lawyer and the lawyers wouldn't come. They asked Mr. Shang to defend himself, and under the pressure, Mr. Shang agreed. They asked Mr. Shang's son to come to the courthouse on August 2nd. They told the son that his father wanted to dismiss the lawyers they had hired and defend himself. Mr. Shang's son signed the papers based on these lies. Mr. Shang's family and the two lawyers realized that what the judge said might be untrue and the only way to find out the truth was to see Mr. Shang in person.

The two lawyers got to the detention centre at 3:30 p.m. on August 4th. The detention centre personnel refused to let the lawyers see Mr. Shang, using the excuse that they were off duty. After a while, the judge, Yu Yong, and Wang Zhishuang arrived. Yu Yong spoke to the lawyers rudely, saying that Mr. Shang Dexing and his family didn't want to hire any lawyers and that Mr. Shang was going to defend himself. The lawyers insisted that they should meet their client to find out the truth. Yu Yong claimed that he must be present during the meeting. The lawyers refused his demands and pointed out that their meeting should not be monitored. In the end, the lawyers made a compromise to let a guard be present at the meeting. The two lawyers and Mr. Shang had the meeting afterward and exposed Yu Yong's lies.

Lawyer Han received several phone calls from the the Qingdao Domestic Security Bureau and the judge. He was threatened not to appear in court with Lawyer Li to defend Mr. Shang. Mr. Shang's family was also threatened not to mention Lawyer Li's name and that Lawyer Li could not appear in court.

The Trial

The case against Mr. Shang was tried in Laoshan Court on August 5th. Three police cars were parked outside the court. Several police officers were patrolling the area surrounding the court and videotaping it. There were many police officers and plainclothes officers inside and outside the court.

Lawyer Li Subin and Lawyer Han were going to enter the court at around 10:00 a.m., but the bailiff didn't let them in. The two lawyers argued with him and he finally let lawyer Han in. Lawyer Li Subin, who was going to defend Mr. Shang as a relative, was kept at bay outside the court. The claimed reason was that Lawyer Li wasn't Mr. Shang's relative even though he is Mr. Shang's wife's relative. Lawyer Li asked him, "Isn't your wife's relative also yours?" The bailiff knew that he was in the wrong but still wouldn't let Lawyer Li in the court. Only Mr. Shang's son and daughter-in-law were allowed into the court, while his other family members and relatives were not allowed.

At the beginning of the trial, Mr. Shang and Lawyer Han pointed out that the judge was involved in the investigation of the case and that this fact highly compromised the legal procedures. They asked that the judge be dismissed from the case. The judge ignored their requests and still continued with the trial. The lawyer withdrew from the court to lodge a protest and complained to the president of the court. The president of the court didn't stop the trial and the trial didn't have any debate. The whole trial became a single person show put on by the judge.

More Deception After the Trial

Judge Yu Yong didn't give a verdict inside the courtroom. On August 21st, the court called lawyer Han and said that the judge would give a verdict on August 25th and there would be no more court sessions for the case, but Yu Yong went to the detention centre to announce his verdict and told Mr. Shang, "I told you not to hire a lawyer but you insisted on hiring one. They didn't help you. I planned to pronounce you not guilty. Now I am giving you a three-year sentence because you hired a lawyer." Mr. Shang asked him, "I'm not guilty. Why do you still sentence me?" Yu Yong answered, "I gave you a three-year sentence just because you hired a lawyer."

Yu Yong again lied to Mr. Shang's family, telling them that Mr. Shang was not going to appeal to a higher court. Lawyer Han met Mr. Shang on August 31st and Yu Yong's lie was exposed.

Lawyer Han also received various pressure and threats. Yu Yong accused lawyer Han of disrupting court order by withdrawing from the court. An officer from the Bureau of Justice had a conversation with Lawyer Han. Lawyer Han refuted the untruths and asked to review the court video. The officer threatened lawyer Han not to continue with the case, otherwise they would suspend her license to practice law.

The 610 Office [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong] in lawyer Han's hometown, Xingtai City, Hebei Province, also had a conversation with her. They told her that she was being insensitive to political matters, and that this was a "political case." They told her that the order came from the Beijing 610 Office and they were asked to talk to lawyer Han. Officers from the Domestic Security Bureau also pressured her to try and force her to give up this case.

Mr. Shang's family recently appealed to a higher court. All the materials have been sent to the Laoshan Court and Qingdao Intermediate Court.

Judge Yu Yong is reported to have tried several Falun Gong practitioners unfairly. From the information column of the court, Yu Yong is identified as a bailiff, not a judge. Lawyer Han asked him to show his licence to be a judge, but the request was denied.

Yu Yong: 86-15966871929 (Mobile), 86-532-88895182 (Office)
Laoshan Court: 86-532-88011312
Qingdao Intermediate Court: 86-532-83099188

Earlier reports: http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/7/24/118810.html

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/9/9/229407.html