(Minghui.org) Mr. Xu Yongqing went to the Huangpu District Legal Office in Shanghai to file an appeal about his illegal arrest and detention, which had been ordered by the Shanghai Appeals Office on August 22, 2016. Two officials refused his request.
Mr. Xu then asked the officials to issue a statement explaining the rejection of his appeal. The officials immediately left the office and ordered the security guard to stop Mr. Xu from following them.
Mr. Xu and Ms. Yang Xiao had visited the Shanghai Appeals Office after noticing a bulletin board covered with posters defaming Falun Gong in the Caobaolu Subway Station on August 22, 2016. However, they were detained, and the authorities ransacked their homes.
Due to the exhaustive efforts of their family and their attorney, they were released after being detained for 30 days. The Huangpu District Police Department issued an administrative penalty statement to Mr. Xu, but changed the detention length to 15 days, even though Mr. Xu had been detained for 30 days. In addition, the police department and the detention center forced Ms. Yang to promise that she would not appeal, or she would not be released.
During Mr. Xu's detention, his attorney submitted a request to the Huangpu District Police Department that urged them to drop the case. The attorney argued that Mr. Yu's actions were legal, and that the Shanghai Appeals Office and the local police had undermined law enforcement and should be prosecuted.
The officer who had handled the case told the attorney that Mr. Xu had not committed a crime. The higher authority's instruction was to reduce the penalty, under the condition that Mr. Xu admit to his mistake for appealing during the G20 Summit.
Mr. Xu argued that his action was based on constitutional rights, and refused the police's condition that he admit to making a mistake.
Mr. Xu and Ms. Yang's appeal were known to many government departments in Shanghai. The police department sent officers to the detention center, who argued with Mr. Xu, trying to get him to drop his accusation against the police department.
Mr. Xu pointed out that it was illegal to detain him over his appeal regarding the slander against Falun Gong. The officials could not refute Mr. Xu's argument and promised to provide an official statement of the arrest and detention in a week. However, they did not visit again.
The bulletin board defaming Falun Gong in the Caobaolu Subway Station was quietly removed by the Xuhui District Legal Publicity Officer four days before Mr. Xu was released.
Mr. Xu and Ms. Yang had exercised their legal rights as citizens to appeal and should be protected by the law. However, the Shanghai City Appeals Office and the local police arrested them, which undermined the rule of law. The authorities did not admit to their mistakes and tried to force Mr. Xu to admit that he made a mistake in exchange for his release. There is no law stating that one cannot appeal during the G20 Summit.
Parties responsible for the arrest and detention of Mr. Xu and Ms. Yang:
Wang Jianhua, head of Shanghai City Appeals Office: +86-21-63281234Yang Jie, CCP party secretary and chief of Huangpu District Police Department in Shanghai City:+86-21-53025110
Related Articles:1. Two Shanghai Professionals Arrested for Petitioning Against Anti-Falun Gong Propaganda2. [Shanghai] Ms. Xu Yongqing and Ms. Yang Xuezhu Placed in Criminal Detention
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