A Report from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights States That the Chinese Communist Party Interferes with the Judicial System to Persecute Falun Gong

On August 27th, 2004, Mr. Leandro Despouy, Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers wrote a letter concerning the situation of a lawyer Wei Jun, who had allegedly been threatened and harassed for defending Liang Changying, a Falun Gong practitioner.

Mr. Leandro Despouy, Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers gives a speech at the 2005 United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva (second from left)

Wei, who is an lawyer from the Baicheng law firm in Guangxi province, was threatened and harassed for defending practitioner Liang Changying. Ms. Liang was sentenced to five and a half years in prison. After the court adjourned, the public prosecutor allegedly asked about the existence of a regulation stating that lawyers cannot defend Falun Gong practitioners who plead "not guilty". That same day, Mr. Wei's home phone, cell phone and office phone were place under surveillance, and several days later police officers asked the Judiciary Bureau to suspend Mr. Wei's law license and to sentence him to three years of forced labour. After the director of the Judiciary Bureau refused their request, the police reportedly warned Mr. Wei that in the future he would not be allowed to defend Falun Gong practitioners. They also confiscated all of his materials regarding Ms. Liang's case.

On October 15th, 2004 the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent joint appeal to express their concerns at reports of systemic repression against the Falun Gong. The appeal was sent in tandem with the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, the Special Rapporteur on the right for everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.

Over the past five years, hundreds of cases of alleged violations of the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners have been brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteurs. Many of these allegations have been reported back to the Chinese authorities and are reflected in reports of the Special Rapporteurs to the Commission on Human Rights. The Special Rapporteurs are concerned that reports of arrest, detention, ill-treatment, torture, denial of adequate medical treatment, sexual violence, deaths, and unfair trial of Falun Gong practitioners are increasing. They expressed concern that these allegations may reflect a deliberate and institutionalised policy by the authorities to target specific groups such as the Falun Gong.

An analysis of reports indicates that the alleged human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners, including systematic arrest and detention, are part of a pattern of repression against members of this group. Most of those arrested are reportedly heavily fined and released, but many are detained and ill treated in order to force them to formally renounce Falun Gong. Those who refuse are sent to re-education through labour camps, where torture is reportedly used routinely and in many cases has resulted in death. When charges are laid they reportedly include allegations such as "disturbing social order", "assembling to disrupt public order", "stealing or leaking State secrets", or "using a heretical organisation to undermine the law."

According to the information received, those prosecuted have been unfairly tried and many have received lengthy prison sentences. In this respect it is reported that on 5th November 1999, a notice issued by the Supreme People's Court instructed all local courts to do their "'political duty"' in bringing to trial and punishing "severely" those charged with "organisation crimes", "particularly Falun Gong", and to handle these cases "under the leadership of the Party committees".

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers is available at http://www.falunhr.org/reports/UN2005/lawyer_chn.pdf