(Minghui.org) The Erdao District Court in Changchun City delivered an indictment against Ms. Zhang Yanmei on April 17, 2014, charging her with breaking the law and listing her collection of Falun Gong books, materials,, and photos taken before 1999 as “evidence.” Ms. Zhang's family hired a lawyer from out of town, but the court refused to let the him review the documents or defend Ms. Zhang.
The court officials deceived Ms. Zhang and claimed that her family did not hire a lawyer. They also told her and her family that the lawyer had to be local or designated by the court. Ms. Zhang's family protested: “We will not make concessions. She is innocent; if you sentence her to even one day in prison, you are breaking the law!"
Ms. Zhang, a Falun Gong practitioner from Changchun, was arrested by Domestic Security Division police on January 13, 2014. She has been detained for more than three months, interrogated, and tortured. She was handcuffed to an iron chair, and her mouth was full of blood from being beaten. When she was taken to No. 3 Detention Center, she was diagnosed with heart disease and tuberculosis, and the detention center officials refused to admit her twice. The Domestic Security Division then sent her to Xinkang Prison.
When Ms. Zhang's family questioned the arrest, neither the police nor the prosecutors handling the case could give them a valid legal explanation of what Ms. Zhang was guilty of.
When the case was being examined in the Erdao District Procuratorate, Ms. Zhang's family contested it, pointing out that it was improper application of the law, that her “offense” was not clear and there was no evidence, and that there was no legal basis to prosecute her. They demanded an explanation, but the prosecutors were unable to answer the doubts raised by Ms. Zhang's family and kept trying to evade them.
Ms. Zhang's family also asked for an investigation into the police interrogation using torture. They asked that Ms. Zhang be released on bail. Although the procuratorate officials agreed to look into it, no investigation was ever conducted.
When Ms. Zhang's relative inquired about bail, Jiang Shuai and Fan Wenting tried to deceive her by saying the case had already been transferred to the court. Then they tried every means to deny it when her relative exposed their lies. Afterwards they refused to answer any questions and had a driver secretly deliver Ms. Zhang's files to Erdao District Court.
After the case was transferred to the court, the court refused to post bail or allow the lawyer the family hired to review the files or defend Ms. Zhang. They treated her family very badly. They did not answer calls, they refused to let them enter the courtroom, and the person in charge of the case did not release any information.
On the morning of January 13 when she was arrested, about 20 officers from the Changchun Domestic Security Division broke into Ms. Zhang's home. They searched two buildings and a storage unit and took a large amount of cash and personal belongings without a valid search warrant.
When the police broke in, Ms. Zhang's 70-year-old mother was in bed on oxygen. She had just been discharged from the hospital after having a heart attack. Ms. Zhang's father had a stroke and now cannot talk. The police searched her home for 5 hours - from 7 a.m. until noon. As a result of the stress, her mother’s condition deteriorated. She had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment and was in critical condition. Ms. Zhang's mother has been admitted to hospital three times and had just returned home.
Parties Involved in Persecuting Ms. Zhang:Zhao Junfeng (赵俊峰), Court president: +86-13596088838 (Cell), +86-431-88559449Jiang Shuai (蒋帅), section head from the Erdao District Procuratorate: +86-13904311665Fan Wenting (范文婷), officer from the procuratorate: +86-15843126669, +86-431-86102111, ext 8522Liu Yingbai (刘英柏), deputy head of Erdao District Political and Legal Affairs Committee: +86-431-84648204
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