(Minghui.org) A lawyer was prohibited from meeting with his client, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Lin Meifang, who is being held in the Fuzhou City No. 2 Detention Center.
The lawyer and Ms. Lin's family filed an administrative complaint against the detention center authorities on May 7, 2015, for denying the practitioner access to legal counsel.
Ms. Lin was arrested at her home on April 13, 2015.
Exhausting all Avenues
Ms. Lin's lawyer arrived at Fuzhou No. 2 Detention Center to talk to her on the early morning of April 22, but was told that he needed written permission from the Dongjie Police Station for such a meeting.
Ms. Lin's arrest warrant was presented to the lawyer. A remark was written on it, stating that Ms. Lin’s lawyer is not allowed to see her unless he first obtains visitation approval from the department in charge, which is the Dongjie Police Station of the Fuzhou Police Department. The lawyer requested that he be given a copy of the warrant, but the request was denied.
The lawyer spent an entire morning trying to talk to people from the detention center in an attempt to see his client. He spoke with the political instructor Huang Qichang, director of the detention center Zhang Qitong, as well as the Fuzhou Procuratorate liaison office at the detention center, but found no success.
Lawyer Appeals to Related Authorities
The lawyer filed an on-line appeal with the mayor's office that afternoon, but he did not receive a response.
Ms. Lin's lawyer then mailed letters to the director of the Fuzhou Police Department Xu Fanxin, director of the Gulou Police Department Branch Lin Xiaodong and the director of the Fuzhou Procuratorate Ye Yanpei, requesting that they intervene. None of these officials responded, either.
Lawyer and Family Jointly File Complaint
The lawyer and Ms. Lin's family members filed an administrative complaint with the Cangshan District Court in Fuzhou on May 7. In the complaint, the Fuzhou No. 2 Detention Center was listed as the defendant, the Fuzhou Gulou Police Station, the Fuzhou Municipal Procuratorate, and the Fuzhou Appeals Office were all listed as third-party defendants. The letter put forward the following requests:
1. Request that the Fuzhou No. 2 Detention Center's denial of meeting between the lawyer and the litigant be judged in violation of existing Chinese law.
2. Approval of immediate meeting between the lawyer and litigant, Ms. Lin, presently held at Fuzhou No.2 Detention Center.
3. Approve compensation of 4,000 yuan to be paid by the Fuzhou No. 2 Detention Center to the lawyer for additional time needed to handle this case.
4. Apology to the plaintiffs.
5. Order disciplinary action against all parties and personnel who violated existing Chinese law when handling this case.
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