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On
November 27, human rights lawyer Wang Yonghang
was sentenced by the Shahekou Magistrate Court
in Dalian
City to 7 years
imprisonment. In mid October the court began Wang’s hearing which his
family and lawyer’s were not informed of, at the hearing he pleaded not
guilty. He has appealed.
Evidence
on which the court’s decision was based included items such as articles
published online by Wang. In mid October the court began Wang’s hearing
which his family and lawyer’s were not informed of, at the hearing he
pleaded not guilty.
Human
rights lawyer Wang Yonghang worked as a defence
lawyer for Falun Gong practitioners on numerous
occasions. In 2008, he published an online open letter to Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, outside of China,
and conferred the groundless nature from a legal perspective of charges
laid on practitioners of Falun Gong. For this
reason he was placed under surveillance and monitored.
Wang Yonghang was detained on 4 July in his home city of Dalian, in the northern province of Liaoning. The
police never allowed him any contact with his lawyers, on the grounds
that his case involved "state secrets." He was tried behind
closed doors at the Shahekou District People's
Court, in Dalian City,
around 14-16 October: the court announced the sentence on 27 November.
(See: http://www.idhae.org/uk-page4.1.asia.chin26.htm )
Police
beat him while he was in custody awaiting trial, breaking his ankle. They
told his wife on 27 July that he had a broken ankle, but did not take him
to hospital until 11 August, by which time the fracture was seriously
infected. His ankle was operated on but remained infected. According to
his wife, who met with him briefly just before the sentencing hearing,
for the first time since he had been detained, he could not walk
properly.
Since Beijing lawyers Lan Zhixue and Zhang Chuanli began representing Wang in his case, they
have been unable to meet with him. The lawyers were told by the National
Security Bureau in Dalian the case involved
confidential information, and they were thus forbidden from seeing him. The
Yaojia Detention Centre in Dalian also
refused the lawyers’
visit through
illegal means. On the day his sentence was pronounced his lawyers’
submitted procedural documents strongly requesting their presence in
court. Only through this did Wang learn that his family had hired defence
lawyers’ on his behalf.
Lan Zhixue said (recording) “I made a
request as Wang’s lawyer to attend his defence? [The judge] said you can
only observe. Only then did Wang know that he had defence lawyers’ , and asked about it. Obviously the court had
not notified him and he was very surprised.”
The
charges read out by the judge claimed that Wang published articles overseas, thereby he obstructed the implementation of
law. According to his lawyers he pleaded not guilty and once the hearing
began he signed the documents to hire his lawyers for appeal.
His
lawyers only found out about his trial after it was finished, and they
asked the court to allow them to meet with him.The
court turned down their request, quoting a Dalian
City regulation which requires lawyers taking up cases involving Falun Gong to provide written evidence that they have
reported the case to the All China Lawyers' Association (ACLA) and that
the ACLA endorses their meeting with their clients; and also an
assignment letter from the law firm they work for. According to Wang Yonghang's lawyers, this Dalian City regulation violates Chinese
laws, including Criminal Procedure Law, which allow defence lawyers to
meet with criminal suspects in custody, as soon as the People's Procuratorate begins to examine their cases for
prosecution.
His lawyer
said on October 16, without notifying his family or lawyers’ Shahekou
Magistrate Court in Dalian began
Wang’s trail. When his wife, Yu Xiaoyan
questioned the judge at the Magistrate
Court, the judge asked why she would not
know of the hearing, since police officers and personnel at her local
station were present at the hearing. Yet when Yu inquired at the local
station she was told by the officer, “Why would we tell you? you are not his wife, the National Security Brigade
said you two were divorced.” Yu condemned these claims as intentional
fabrications, and strongly requested for the rights to observe the
hearing with her husbands elder sister and brother. On November 27, she
finally saw her husband in court room, but for less than 20 minutes.
Yu said
(recording) “[Wang Yonghang] has been severely
injured. One leg is suffering muscular atrophy, and his health is poor,
he is very weak. However his will is strong and his thoughts are very clear.
I told him that the family was doing well and not to worry.”
In the
period leading up to Wang’s trial his wife received threatening phone
calls and her house was broken into she was followed and monitor during
the day. Yu’s family lived in fear
of her safety, both her mother and mother in law
fell ill. During Yu’s defence of her husband’s innocence, she was
verbally threatened and blackmailed countless times.
TAKE ACTION NOW !
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in
Chinese or your own language:
- calling on the authorities
to release Wang Yonghang immediately and
unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience;
- urging them to ensure he has
access to legal assistance of his choosing, his family and any medical
attention he may require;
- urging the authorities to
guarantee that Wang Yonghang will not be
tortured or otherwise ill-treated;
- calling on them to end the
use of vaguely-defined charges relating to "state secrets" to
crack down on human rights defenders.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS TO:
Director of the Liaoning Provincial Department of Public Security
LI Wenxi
Tingzhang
Liaoningsheng Gong'anting
2 Qishan
Zhonglu
Huangguqu
Shenyangshi 110032
Liaoningsheng
People's Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Director
Director of the Liaoning Provincial Department of Justice
Zhang Jiacheng
Tingzhang
Liaoningsheng Sifating
28 Jia
Chongshan Donglu
Shenyangshi 110032
Liaoningsheng
People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 24 86906792
Salutation: Dear Director
And copies to:
Prime Minister
WEN Jiabao
Guojia Zongli
The State Council General
Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100017
People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 65961109
Salutation: Your Excellency
Also send copies to diplomatic
representatives accredited to your country.
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