(Minghui.org) Defense lawyers for four Falun Gong practitioners from Kunming City, Yunnan Province, submitted indictments on April 19, 2013, to the Yunnan Provincial Procuratorate and the Chuxiong City Procuratorate. They also filed a complaint against officials of the Lufeng County Public Security Department for giving the lawyers a hard time when they tried to meet with their clients. The lawyers requested that these officials be investigated and brought to justice for their actions.
Four attorneys hired to defend four practitioners
Ms. Liu Cuixian, Ms. Peng Xueping, Ms. Ran Xiaoman, and Ms. Liu Xiaoping from Kunming City were reported on December 20, 2012, by the Tuo'an Township Security Department for distributing Shen Yun DVDs to the villagers in Tuoan Township, Lufeng County. They were arrested by officers from the Lufeng County Police Department Domestic Security Division. Their families later hired lawyers from Beijing to defend them and to plead not guilty on their behalf.
Ms. Liu Xiaoping's lawyer went to Lufeng County Detention Center on January 4, 2013, and visited her. On January 22 he submitted a proposal to the Lufeng County Procuratorate, in which he comprehensively explained and argued in depth with convincing evidence that his client, Ms. Liu Xiaoping, “did not break the law by practicing Falun Gong, and it is not a crime to clarify the truth about Falun Gong.” He expressed the hope that the prosecutors would effectively exercise their legal authority and uphold the law.
Client visit denied
Ms. Peng Xueping's lawyer went to visit her in the detention center on March 7, but was turned down. The detention center officials said that they were notified by the chief of the Lufeng County Police Department Domestic Security Division, Huang Hongjing, that lawyers had to have his permission to visit any of the four practitioners.
The lawyer then went to the police department and questioned Hong in person. Hong admitted that he had given such an order and said that he would take full responsibility.
Indictments filed
That same day Ms. Peng's lawyer submitted the indictment to the Lufeng County Police Department and Procuratorate and asked that Hong be investigated and brought to justice for his unlawful behavior. The lawyer again submitted an indictment on March 8 to the Inspection Division of the Yunnan Provincial Public Security Bureau.
Repercussions
That afternoon the homes of Ms. Liu Cuixian and Ms. Ran Xiaoman were ransacked by the Lufeng County Police Department Domestic Security Division chief Pan Zhihong and Huang Hongjing, along with two police officers.
Case transferred
Ms. Liu Xiaoping's defense lawyer went to the Prosecution Section of Lufeng County Procuratorate on April 7 and was told that the Lufeng County Police Department had transferred the case (of four practitioners) to the Lufeng County Procuratorate on March 19.
When he asked to see the file, prosecution section chief Yu Hong lied and said, “The person in charge of this case went to a seminar. He has the file and we cannot get to it.” When the lawyer asked who the prosecutor was, Yu responded, “In order to ensure the prosecutor's safety, we cannot disclose that information. You will find out when you receive the indictment.”
All visits denied
When the lawyer went to the detention center to visit Ms. Liu Xiaoping around 4 p.m., he was told that the Procuratorate had given instructions not to let anybody visit her. The lawyer went back to the Lufeng Procuratorate the next day and told the Procurator-General about the situation, but the detention center authorities still refused to let him see Ms. Liu.
When the four defense lawyers once again went to the Lufeng County Detention Center on April 18 to ask to see their clients, guards Li Xuexiang (No. 030507) and Mou Shunqing (No. 030457) turned them down and explained that it was on “instructions given by their superiors.” The lawyers went to the Procuratorate and submitted their indictment to Inspection Section chief Wang and filed a complaint against the detention center authorities for violating the law and not letting the lawyers meet with their clients. The lawyers then went to the Prosecution Section and inquired about the practitioners' case. Section chief Yu Hong responded, “The case has been submitted to the court.”
Access to case files restricted
The lawyers went to the Lufeng County Court that afternoon and asked to see the file. The judge on duty demanded that Ms. Liu Xiaoxian show paperwork and identification to prove that she was Ms. Liu Cuixian's sister, otherwise Ms. Liu's lawyer was not allowed to see the file. And since only one case was filed against all four practitioners, the other lawyers were not allowed to see it. When the lawyers directly asked the president of the court after a long stalemate, they were allowed to see only two out of five volumes of the dossier.
