(Minghui.org) Ms. Wang Lianshuang was arrested on August 22, 2016 for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
The Sanhe City resident’s lawyer filed a motion on October 14 to dismiss the case against her, as no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and she should never have been prosecuted for exercising her constitutional right to freedom of belief.
The procuratorate responded that requests for dismissal are prohibited in Falun Gong cases, yet it failed to produce any supporting legal documents to that effect.
Arrest in Middle of Night
Ms. Wang was sound asleep when the police descended upon her house at around 2:00 a.m. They yanked her out of bed and dragged her along the ground for more than 100 meters, before stuffing her into a police cruiser.
The 66-year-old woman sustained severe injuries during the process. Her feet went numb, and her shoulders and collar bone were injured. Her blood pressure shot up to dangerously high levels.
Ms. Wang was put in a cage as soon as she was taken to the police station. The police didn’t offer her any food during the first day of her detention. They later gave her a small bottle of water after her repeated requests.
The police interrogated her three times over the next few days and then transferred her to Sanhe Detention Center. She told her lawyer that she was forced to make plastic flowers without pay for up to 4 hours each day.
This is not the first time that Ms. Wang has been targeted for her faith. She has been repeatedly arrested in the past and once served one year in a labor camp.
She is also not the only one in her family suffering from the persecution. Her older son, Mr. Wang Zhanqing, practices Falun Gong too. He was sentenced to six years in prison just a few months before her latest arrest.
Lawyer’s Request Declined
Ms. Wang’s younger son, Mr. Wang Dongqing, and her lawyer, Mr. Cheng Hai, visited the complaints section of Sanhe City People’s Procuratorate on October 14.
Mr. Wang (left) and Mr. Cheng in front of Sanhe City People’s Procuratorate
Section chief Su Haiyan received them.
Mr. Cheng emphasized that his client had every right to practice and spread information about Falun Gong. He requested that the case against her be dismissed, as she broke no law.
He also told Su that the police and prosecutors should be held liable, as they had no legal basis in arresting and indicting her on trumped up charges.
Su refused to register Mr. Cheng’s written legal opinion, citing an internal regulation that bans processing of requests for dismissal in Falun Gong cases. He, however, had nothing to show when challenged to produce documents to that effect.
Mr. Cheng argued that it was illegal for the procuratorate to refuse to process his request. Su then went to consult with a chief prosecutor. He came back with the same answer of “no.”
Mr. Cheng and Mr. Wang next visited the Sanhe City Police Department to submit the legal opinion, but they were again turned down.
