Name: Wang Xiaodong (王晓东)
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Address: Zhouguantun Village, Fu Town, Botou City, Hebei Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: February 25, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Unknown
City: Botou
Province: Hebei
Persecution Suffered: Illegal arrest
Key Persecutors: Guo Zhongxuan (郭中轩) and Zheng Lanhui (郑兰辉)
Defense Lawyer: Cheng Hai
(Minghui.org) After Wang Wensheng and other officers from the Botou Police Department arrested Mr. Wang Xiaodong, a Falun Gong practitioner, at his home on the morning of February 25, 2012, an appeal letter was sent to the authorities requesting his release. More than 300 fellow villagers signed the letter and it was sealed with the village stamp. This news was widely reported by media outside of China.
Officials from the Botou government, 610 Office and the police department were angered by the actions of Mr. Wang's family and the villagers, as well as the attention it drew from the international community. Villagers were then forced to declare their stance on the Falun Gong issue and were made to curse Falun Gong. Banners defaming the practice were also posted around the village. Mr. Wang's younger sister, Ms. Wang Xiaomei, was sentenced to a forced labor camp, and Mr. Wang's elder brother, Mr. Wang Junjie, had to leave home to avoid being arrested.
When Mr. Wang's family members hired lawyer Cheng Hai from Beijing to defend Mr. Wang, Botou City law officials and other governmental officials continually threatened and harassed the lawyer in an attempt to stop him from proceeding with the case.
It was reported that Cheng Hai accepted the case and filed a lawsuit against officials from the Botou Police Department, Procuratorate and detention center for their mistreatment of Mr. Wang.
On the morning of July 2, 2012, Guo Zhongxuan, party secretary of Fu Town in Botou City, and mayor Zheng Lanhui went to Mr. Wang's village and tried to force his family to dismiss the lawyer. They also lied about Mr. Wang trying to bribe the judge.
On the morning of July 3, 2012, Guo and Zheng returned to the village and tried to force the village head to bring Mr. Wang's mother to meet them. She refused. On the same day, at around 8:00 a.m., the officials from the town government called Mr. Wang's brother, Mr. Wang Junjie, to ask him go back home. He also refused.
Mr. Wang's family were continually harassed in an attempt to force them to dismiss the lawyer, and the judge from Botou Court even told Mr. Wang's family members that Mr. Wang no longer needed lawyer Cheng Hai for his defense. On July 5, 2012, Cheng Hai told Mr. Wang's family that the judge from Botou Court would no longer allow him to be Mr. Wang's lawyer.
Mr. Wang's family then decided to file a lawsuit against Guo Zhongxuan and Zheng Lanhui for abusing their power and trying to stop the lawyer from representing Mr. Wang. They also indicated that they would retain their right to sue officials at Botou Court.
