Former Teacher Sues Judge, Seeks Reversal of Wrongful Prison Sentence and Retrial
(Minghui.org) A Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province resident is suing a judge for illegally sentencing her for practicing Falun Gong. She demands a reversal of the sentencing decision and a retrial.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Liu Lijie argued that Song Tao, the presiding judge in charge of her case, refused to change the court date to accommodate her lawyer’s scheduling conflict, despite the lawyer’s repeated requests. While Song later invalidated the hearing because of the lawyer’s absence and scheduled another hearing, he didn’t establish a new collegiate bench as required by law. Ms. Liu and her lawyer decided that the latter not attend the rescheduled hearing in protest of the judge’s violation of legal procedure. Ms. Liu was sentenced to 3.5 years on November 17, 2021, one day after the rescheduled hearing.
Ms. Liu Lijie
Wrongful Sentencing
Ms. Liu Lijie, a 51-year-old former teacher, was arrested on October 14, 2020, while visiting another practitioner. After she was released on bail due to her health, the police constantly harassed her.
The Xiangyang District Court initially scheduled a hearing for Ms. Liu on September 24, 2021, but later postponed it to September 28, which was again canceled. In the process, judge Song repeatedly blocked Ms. Liu’s non-lawyer defender from representing her in court.
When Ms. Liu’s lawyer told the court that he had a conflict with the newly rescheduled hearing on October 12, judge Song rejected his request for a different court date and appointed another lawyer to represent Ms. Liu.
During the hearing on October 12, Ms. Liu dismissed the court-appointed lawyer, who was instructed to enter a guilty plea for her. She kept requesting that judge Gong adjourn the hearing and move it to a later date to enable her lawyer to attend, but Song still proceeded with the session.
On November 4, the police chief arrived with the officer assigned to monitor Ms. Liu and told her that judge Song had summoned her to the court to answer some questions.
They also passed Judge Song’s message that he now admitted the that hearing on October 12 was invalid, as Ms. Liu’s lawyer wasn’t present. He said he arranged another hearing for November 16 and she could ask her lawyer to attend.
After discussing the matter with Ms. Liu, the lawyer agreed that he not attend the hearing, as judge Song had violated legal procedure all along and there wasn’t much point for him to attend the rescheduled session. Instead, he would seek justice for her through other channels.
During the hearing on November 16, Ms. Liu stayed silent throughout the session to protest the persecution. Song threatened to give her a heavier term if she didn’t cooperate with them.
A day after the hearing, Song handed down a 3.5-year prison sentence against Ms. Liu, on charges of “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime to frame Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Liu filed an appeal against the verdict.
Uphill Battle in Seeking Justice
On November 29, 2021, Ms. Liu’s family defender Wang Yu and lawyers Wang Quanzhang and Bao Longjun went to the Jiamusi City Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, the Xiangyang District Procuratorate, the Jiamusi City Intermediate Court, the Jiamusi City Procuratorate and the Jiamusi City People’s Congress, to submit their complaints against judge Song and the legal opinion to withdraw the verdict against Ms. Liu. They are also requesting the authorities to investigate Song’s blocking Ms. Liu’s legal representation in court.
The receptionist at the Xiangyang District Procuratorate accepted the materials and also asked for a copy of Ms. Liu’s indictment.
At the Jiamusi City Procuratorate, Gao Tianyi, a staffer who talked to them, was very rude and refused to accept the complaint, claiming that it’s not their job to investigate the judge. He directed the lawyers to the city’s Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision instead.
The lawyers said to Gao that it’s under the procuratorate’s jurisdiction, especially the city-level procuratorate, to supervise the entire prosecution process and investigate any malfeasance by judicial staff members. Gao refused to listen and left his desk. When he came back moments later, he laughed at the lawyers as they were still waiting for him. The lawyers asked for his ID number. Gao arrogantly replied, “I’m Gao Tianyi. You can go ahead and file a complaint against me.” The lawyers later indeed filed complaints against him with various agencies at the local, provincial and central government levels.
The lawyers then went to the Jiamusi City Intermediate Court. The security guard blocked them from entering, with the excuse that they came from out-of-town and had the risk of carrying coronavirus. The lawyers called Guo Jianfeng, the president of the criminal court, to complain about the situation. Guo replied that the lower court hasn’t submitted the case to them and they didn’t have any information to tell the lawyers.
The lawyers next went to the Jiamusi City People’s Congress. Director Zhang of the Judicial Inspection Office received them. After the lawyers briefly talked about the situation, Zhang called Song in front of them to verify the case. The lawyers said they could hear Song defending himself over the phone. They left the office without making any progress.
The lawyers’ last stop was at the Jiamusi City Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision. They waited a long time, but no one ever came to receive them.
When the lawyers returned to the Commission the next day, the staff members only allowed lawyers Wang and Bao to enter their office, but blocked Wang Yu outside when it was snowing heavily and the temperature was -4 °F. Wang Yu asked to wait in the lobby, but was driven out by the security guard, who claimed that she wasn’t qualified.
As Wang tried to reason with them, security personnel reported her to the police. Three officers came and snatched her phone. They placed Wang Yu, Wang Quanzhang and Bao Longjun into three separate cars and took them to the Changqing Police Station. All three were accused of “causing trouble” and representing a Falun Gong practitioner. The police interrogated them in different rooms. They all refused to sign the documents. The police confiscated Ms. Liu’s case documents from them and warned them not to get involved in “political matters.” They were released three hours later.
One of Ms. Liu’s lawyers said, “The persecution of Falun Gong and the practitioners’ efforts in counteracting the persecution over the past twenty years has become a more and more universal and global issue. It is no longer just a matter of certain individuals or certain groups. It is about the life and dignity of every citizen, how each person chooses their stand, and the dignity and future of all mankind. This is a battle between peace and violence, civilization and barbarism, freedom and tyranny, and justice and evil. No one can stay out of the battle.”
Perpetrators’ contact information:
Song Tao (宋涛), judge, Xiangyang District Court: +86-454-6210031, +86-18903687999, +86-13512645666Li Lifeng (李利锋), prosecutor, Xiangyang District Procuratorate: +86-13846169281, +86-18697098055Zhu Changchun (朱长春), head of the Jiamusi City Procuratorate: +86-454-8288259, +86-13030023900Li Xiuyan (李岫岩), president, Jiamusi City Intermediate Court: +86-15645866001, +86-454-8620300
(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)
Related reports:
Heilongjiang Woman Sentenced to Prison for Her Faith
Heilongjiang Woman Stands Trial Without Legal Representation
Ms. Liu Lijie Arrested in Retaliation for Exposing Police Brutality in Jiansanjiang
The Persecution of Falun Gong and Their Lawyers in Jiansanjiang Has Spread to Jiamusi City
Seven Practitioners Secretly Transferred After Four Attorneys Beaten at Jiansanjiang
Exposing the Torture of Falun Gong Practitioners in Heilongjiang Province Women's Forced Labor Camp
Ten Practitioners from Jiamusi City Arrested and Sent to Labor Camps