Jiaonan Police Department Refuses Attorney's Request to Visit His Client

The Jiaonan 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) issued a formal arrest document for Ms. Zhang Shuhua from Jiaonan, Shandong Province, on around February 26th. Her son hired an attorney for her, and on April 1st, the attorney went to the Jiaonan Police Department and requested to visit with his client. The police department refused his request, claiming that it could not be approved because the supervisor in charge was not present.

On January 15th, Ms. Zhang Shuhua was taken to the Dacun Town Police Station in Jiaonan. In the police station, Chief Dong Qiqiang and police officer Yin Zheng swore at Ms. Zhang and four other Falun Gong practitioners. They punched and kicked the practitioners, hitting their faces in particular. Ms. Zhang's son said that his mother's mouth was black and blue when he and other family members went to the police station to request her release the next day.

Ms. Zhang was sent to the Dashan Detention Centre in Qingdao, Shandong Province on January 22nd. On or about February 26th, the Jiaonan 610 Office issued a formal arrest document. The police went to Ms. Zhang's home and forced her son to sign the document.

Ms. Zhang Shuhua's husband passed away many years ago. She now lives with her son who has witnessed his mother's recovery from serious illnesses after she started practising Falun Gong. He thus supports his mother's practice. He asked an attorney to defend his innocent mother so as to protect his mother's legal rights.

On April 1st, the attorney filed an application to visit his client at the Jiaonan Police Department. The police asked the attorney whether such a case requires approval from the local judicial department. The attorney answered no. The police then asked for a copy of the attorney's licence and told him they would give an answer in 48 hours. Two days later, the attorney called the police department and inquired about the result. Their answer was that his application could not be approved because the supervisor in charge was not present.

More than ten days have now passed. Using the same excuse, the Jiaonan Police Department continues to refuse the attorney's request to visit his client.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/4/15/239079.html