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610 Office Agents Harass Wang Bo's 87-Year-Old Grandmother - Attendees at Second Court Hearing Were Arrested
(Clearwisdom.net) Wang Bo's grandmother, Han Lingrong, is 87 years old.
She depends on her family to assist with her daily life needs. However, three
610 Office agents from the Yuhua District Police Department in
Shijiazhuang City and from the Yudong Police Station came to her residence on
June 21, 2007, at around 5:00 p.m. They presented a search warrant and stated
that someone suspected that Ms. Han had been involved in handing out Falun Gong
flyers and reported her to the police. This claim was so absurd that anyone thinking rationally will find it
preposterous. Ms. Han depends on her daughter and son-in-law to take care of her
daily life needs. How could she hand out Falun Gong flyers? The three policemen didn't find any evidence while searching the home, so
they forcibly took Ms. Han's son-in-law (Wang Bo's uncle) to the Yudong Police
Station for interrogation. Although they used the ruse that someone had reported
Wang Bo's grandmother, the focus of their interrogation centered on who had
hired the attorney for Wang Bo, why so many Falun Gong practitioners were
present at the court hearing, and who has ties to the Wang Bo family. Wang Bo's
uncle didn't answer their questions and asked the police a question instead,
"Is it illegal to hire attorneys?" The police were silent but told him
that it was an order from above to ask him these questions. They hoped Wang Bo's
uncle would cooperate with them so they could report to their supervisors and
get their task done. Wang Bo's grandmother felt extremely unwell as a result of the police search.
She was afraid and in shock. She strongly protested her son-in-law's arrest. The
police released Wang Bo's uncle that evening but told Wang's family that it was
not over yet, and they would find Wang Bo's aunt later to interrogate her and
make written records. Someone ordered Wang Bo's uncle to go to the Yuhua District Police Department
again on the morning of June 22 . He was interrogated with the same questions.
They permitted him to return home at noon. At the first court hearing, one of the attendees was a classmate of Wang Bo's
uncle as well as a friend of Wang Bo's family. He had known Wang Bo since she
was a baby. Hearing that Wang Bo's whole family would be sentenced, he applied
for a spectator's pass and attended the court trial. Police officials from the
Hedong station took him for interrogation on the evening of June 21 and held him
in the police station for the night. He was not released until late morning the
following day. The local authorities prepared themselves during the trial, as if
they would be facing a great number of armed enemies. More than 600 policemen
were dispatched to guard the court and to prevent the general public from
approaching the proximity of the court. Almost two months had passed since the
first court hearing. The police still felt insecure and arrested attendees at
will. On June 21, 2007, at around 3:00 p.m., more than ten officers from the Yuhua
District Police Department went to Ms. Liang Yening's workplace and confiscated
a desktop computer she was using. They then went to Liang's residence to ransack
her home. Four of them remained, attempting to arrest Ms. Liang, but failed to
find her. Another group from the Yuhua Police Station went to Ms. Hua
Fengxiang's home that same day and arrested her around seven o'clock in the
evening. We have information that Ms. Hua was just released. They are searching
for Ms. Qiu Liying as well. The court posted the announcement for the upcoming second trial date for Wang
Bo long before the trial date. Those who are concerned with Wang's family would
certainly apply for a spectator's pass to attend the proceedings. The local
authorities seized all those who planned to attend the hearing before the court
trial. The so-called "public trial" was just a trap, a shameless
scheme, meant to arrest all those who are concerned about the family. The trial
was held on April 27, 2007. Wang Bo and her mother were sent to the Hebei
Province Women's Prison on May 15, 2007. Wang Bo's father was sent to the Jidong
Prison on June 19, 2007. The following is Wang Bo's grandmother, Ms. Han's appeal letter: To the Supreme Court of the People's Republic of China: Wang Bo, a 27-year-old female graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music,
lived in the Tangu residential subdivision in Shijiazhuang City. She started to
practice Falun Gong after she witnessed her parents' tremendous physical and
spiritual improvement since they became cultivators of Falun Gong. The family
had enjoyed good health and family harmony. Wang Bo was an outstanding student.
Her parents were very pleased with her. However, since the Chinese Communist Party started persecuting Falun Gong on
July 20, 1999, the family has suffered unimaginable ordeals for persevering in
their belief in Falun Gong. All of them were sentenced to forced labor for three
years. In the past eight years they only had a half-year reunion. For most of
the eight years they led fugitive lives in worry, fear and anxiety. Now the
three of them have been sentenced to prison at the same time. Wang Bo was
sentenced to five years, and her parents to four years. Wang Bo and her mother
Liu Shuqin were sent to the Hebei Women's Prison on May 15, 2007. Her father
Wang Xinzhong remained at the Zhaoxian Detention Center in Shijiazhuang City. As
early as in February 2007 he was diagnosed with high blood pressure at 200/120
mmHg, together with arteriosclerosis of the heart. According to Department of
Justice regulations and rules, Wang Xinzhong should be released on medical
parole, however, because he is a Falun Gong practitioner, the detention
authorities refused his family's repeated requests to release him. His life is
in grave danger. Wang Bo was sentenced to forced labor for appealing for justice for Falun
Gong when she was only 19 years old. When she was in college, police acted as
"personal cangues" (1) and attended classes with her to monitor her
closely. The majority of her time was spent in a prison and labor camp. Due to
tremendous pressure, she attempted to commit suicide several times. [Note:
Falun Dafa strictly forbids harming any life including one's own.] In April
2002, CCTV's "Focal Point" interviewed the imprisoned Wang Bo. When
the interview aired it was grossly distorted, completely different from their
original statements. TV reporter Li Yuqiang phoned Wang Bo and expressed an
apology and said, "There is nothing I can do. I altered the interview to
pass censorship." When Wang Bo gained freedom in July 2005, she made a film to reveal the
brutality and lies behind the CCTV's falsified interview from three years
earlier, thus police were ordered to arrest her and searched for her everywhere.
On July 27, 2006, Wang Bo and her parents were arrested again. On February 1,
2007, Chang'an District Court agents in Shijiazhuang City sentenced them to four
to five years in prison. Wang Bo and her parents disagreed with the judgment. They believed that
freedom of belief was protected by the constitution and that they could thus
hold onto their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. It is a miscarriage
of justice to apply criminal law article 300 to Falun Gong practitioners. It is
unjust to sentence Falun Gong practitioners for their beliefs. During the second court trial, Wang Bo's relatives and friends invited six
attorneys to defend Wang Bo's family. The six attorneys, from four Beijing law
offices, did a great job defending Wang Bo's family, trying to convince the
judge and the audience that the accused were innocent. They also pointed out
that 13 legal procedures and laws had been violated during the arrest and
subsequent imprisonment. They submitted a joint defense motion entitled
"Constitutional supremacy and innocent belief," and defended on behalf
of Falun Gong, from the comprehensive perspectives of constitution, legislature,
judiciary procedures and legal facts. Their courageous acts and outstanding
statements have drawn worldwide attention. However, the Shijiazhuang Intermediate Court disregarded the attorneys'
well-grounded and rational defense statements, disregarded the rules of law, and
made a secret court decision on May 9, 2007 to "uphold the original
judgment" without notifying the attorneys. The court deliberately concealed
facts when Wang Bo's relatives inquired about the case. After the court-issued judgment for the second trial, Wang Bo's relatives
appealed to the Supreme Court of Hebei Province. The judge who met with them
suggested that they first appeal to the Shijiazhuang Intermediate Court. On June
14, 2007 Wang Bo's relatives appealed to the intermediate court and were told
they would receive a reply within ten days. According to a judge who knew the
inside information, holding a second trial was a decision made by officials from
above and "upholding the original judgment" was also an order from
above. A local court cannot make any independent, final judgment for any case
that involves Falun Gong. It was under such circumstances that I decided to appeal directly to the
Supreme Court of the People's Republic of China. According to the rules set in
Criminal Procedure Law, appeals shall not be confined to the levels of the
court. Just as the defense attorneys stated, there is no legal basis whatsoever in
China's current legal system for banning and suppressing Falun Gong as an evil
religion, a belief system that is based on the belief in
Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. The series of punitive actions perpetrated on
Falun Gong practitioners have no constitutional or legal basis, and should be
stopped. In the case of Wang Bo's family, sentencing them to forced labor in
July 1999 was wrong to begin with. Wang Bo and her parents have been imprisoned
for almost one year. A once happy family was literally broken apart. It was said
that Wang Bo and her mother held hunger strikes in prison to protest the unjust
judgment. Their lives are in danger. Wang Bo's father has a broken heart and
experienced severely deteriorated health in the past eight years, but no one
dares to grant him medical parole because he is a Falun Gong practitioner. Three
people's lives are at stake in this wrongful judgment! The three innocent defendants have spent over eight years in incarceration.
They have been waiting for justice that should have been granted eight years
ago. Such an injustice must not be allowed to continue. As the last resort for
judiciary justice, the Supreme Court of People's Republic of China can no longer
act as an onlooker. We strongly appeal to the Supreme People's court to hear this case and make a
fair judgment based on rules of law, to release Wang Bo and her parents. Han Lingrong June 8, 2007 Note: (1) "Personal cangues" - Cangue, the name of an instrument of
torture, is now used to indicate the person who was designated to supervise the
behavior of practitioners. Posting date: 7/4/2007 |