(Minghui.org) A concerned mother is calling on communist authorities to release her detained son and daughter-in-law, who faced trial on August 9, 2018, ten months after they were arrested for their faith in the spiritual practice of Falun Gong.
Ms. Geng Liangjun said in an open letter that neither her son nor daughter-in-law violated any law in practicing Falun Gong and the persecution itself lacks legal basis. She asked the perpetrators not to continue doing evil, as justice will be carried out one day.
“As a mother, I sincerely ask you to think again and not follow Jiang Zemin in his persecution policy against Falun Gong. This will be good for you, your family, and your futures,” stated Ms. Geng in her letter.
Ms. Geng's son, Mr. Yang Bo, and his wife, Ms. Xiao Yin, both from Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, were tried by the Nanshan Court on August 9. It was unclear whether a verdict was announced at the trial.
The couple were arrested on October 7, 2017 after the police broke into their home by drilling through two metal entry doors.
The couple's 13-year-old daughter witnessed the police's raid of their home. She was taken to the police station and interrogated for several hours before they allowed her relatives to take her home.
The police set up surveillance around Mr. Yang's home. When practitioner Ms. Dou Jun, in her sixties, visited the couple, she was also arrested and kept in custody. It was reported that she was tried on the same day with the couple.
The couple have been detained at Nanshan Detention Center in Shenzhen since their arrests.
Ms. Geng recalled that, since he was a boy, Mr. Yang was always ready to help others. “I feel proud to have a son like him,” she said.
“It really broke my heart that the police would arrest such a nice person like him. They treated him like a criminal. But all he did was follow the principles of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance' taught by Falun Gong.
“My daughter-in-law, a CFO at an international company, started to practice Falun Gong not long ago. Their arrests were a huge shock to my 13-year-old granddaughter. I can feel her heart was broken as well.”
In her letter, Ms. Geng cited that, according to Chinese law, government officials who carry out wrong decisions from higher-ups will also be held accountable even after they move to other positions or retire. According to “Civil Servant Law in the People’s Republic of China,” Ms. Geng stated, “When a civil servant carries out an obviously illegal decision or order, he or she shall be subjected to the corresponding liabilities ruled by the law.”
The Provisions on the Accountability for Faults of People's Policemen with Public Security Organs in the Law Enforcement, updated in March 2016, states that “incorrect cases caused by intentional or gross negligence shall not be affected by the unit, position, rank change or retirement of the person responsible for law enforcement, and shall be held accountable for the fault of law enforcement.”
Article 3 of China's Criminal Law also rules that “any act deemed by explicit stipulations of law as a crime is to be convicted and given punishment by law and any act that no explicit stipulations of law deem a crime is not to be convicted or given punishment.”
When the Procuratorate or court system indicts or sentences Falun Gong practitioners because they own or distribute Falun Gong materials, the officials themselves are violating the law, as no law in China ever prohibited possessing or distributing Falun Gong related materials.
The ban on publication of Falun Gong books by the China Administration of Press and Publication was repealed in 2011.
Although Chinese courts often accuse Falun Gong practitioners of “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement,” Falun Gong wasn't on the list of 14 cult organizations identified by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security in a public notice.
Previous report:13-Year-Old Interrogated for Hours By Police, Parents Remain Detained