Ms. Liang Bo Framed by Haidian District Court, Judge Abuses His Power

The Haidian District Court, Beijing conducted a hearing at 9:30 a.m. on September 8th, 2010, for the case of Ms. Liang Bo, a lecturer at the School for Cultural Communication, Minzu University of China.

During this so-called public hearing, a colleague of Ms. Liang's husband witnessed the entire procedure. Under Judge You Tao, there were numerous aspects which did not comply with the law. The following are details.

1. Before 9:30 a.m. on September 8th, Ms. Liang Bo's mother, husband, family members and friends (myself included), over ten people, arrived at Court No. 3 after having passed through the security check at Haidian District. At 10:00 a.m., the judge's assistant notified us that the hearing had been moved to a smaller court, Court No. 7. We were also told that only two people were allowed to be present at the hearing. The judge that day was You Tao. He did not follow the legal procedure that requires him to publish the case, defendant's name, hearing time and location, three days before the hearing.

2. Before the hearing started, the police expelled Ms. Liang Bo's mother and her husband as well as friends and family, and only allowed two people to stay (I was one of them). Neither her mother nor her husband were able to attend the hearing, even though there were eight empty seats in the front row.

3. During the hearing, the lawyer strongly requested to question the defendant, Liang Bo, repeatedly so that the court could clarify the case, but his requests were denied by Judge You Tao. He denied the lawyer's right to question the defendant, Liang Bo's right to explain her case to the court as directed by her lawyer, and the lawyer's right to defend his client.

4. Judge You Tao did not request the prosecution's witness to appear in court in order to testify. When the defendant's lawyer brought up this issue, the judge refused to acknowledge it.

5. The major evidence of the prosecutor were CDs, books, and posters that were confiscated from Liang Bo and her home. None of the evidence was presented at the hearing. When the lawyer asked for it, You Tao ignored his request. Liang Bo stated that much of the evidence was fabricated and not true. For example, her handbag is not big enough to hold 50 CDs and 20 books. She asked the prosecutor to show the handbag, CDs, and books. You Tao, however, did not order the prosecutor to produce the evidence.

6. When Liang Bo was only about half a minute into her final statement, You Tao abruptly interrupted her and did not let her finish, limiting the defendant's right for self defence.

More information about Ms. Liang Bo can be found at http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/9/15/120006.html

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/9/18/229798.html