China: Measures taken against lawyers representing detained Falun Dafa (Falun Gong; Falungong) practitioners
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 9 February 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | CHN36362.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, China: Measures taken against lawyers representing detained Falun Dafa (Falun Gong; Falungong) practitioners, 9 February 2001, CHN36362.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be1b2c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to a publication produced by Falun Dafa practitioners, Report on Extensive and Severe Human Rights Violations in the Suppression of Falun Gong:
The Beijing Bureau of Justice issued a notice on July 29, setting a procedure for reporting all requests of consultation and legal representation related to Falun Gong. The notice emphasized the requirement of all units, including all attorney offices and Bureaus of Justice in all counties and districts, to immediately report, tally and record all requests for consultation and legal representation related to Falun Gong. The notice stipulated that no contract for legal representation may be signed prior approval by the Office of Legal Administration. When litigants come to any attorney's office for consultation services, the contents of all the answers have to match the ones from the Central Government. Cui Yuqi, a Beijing officer from Bureau of Justice has confirmed the existence of the notice, and its implementation in the collection of statistical information. Falun Gong practitioners may not find their own lawyers; the government denies them Chinese Constitutional rights (Mar. 2000).
The purported text of the notice is also contained in the report:
All legal consultations in regards to Falun Gong must be reported promptly. Particular requirements are:
1. A lawyer may not have dealings with a client involving Falun Gong issues. The case should be reported to the Regulation Section (Phone: 63408078) and it can be decided only after reporting.
2. In the event that a client requests consultation involving Falun Gong issues, all attorney offices must conform to the law and be strictly in accordance with the tone of the Central Government.
3. All recent consultations on Falun Gong issues must be documented and faxed immediately to the Regulation Section on or before August 2nd, 1999.
Regulation Section, Beijing Bureau of Justice. Fax: 63408034
A Reuters report also makes reference to lawyers in Beijing "and several other cities" being told to report all requests for legal assistance from Falun Gong practitioners (24 Aug. 1999). An Acting Professor of Law from the University of California at Los Angeles who has published on the subject of law in China, stated that he had seen the Beijing notice but that lawyers in Shanghai and Nanjing he had contacted had not received similar warnings (6 Feb. 2001).
According to a 23 March 2000 Amnesty International news release, defence lawyers were prevented from entering not guilty pleas in cases involving Falun Dafa practitioners. Although there are no references to cases of retribution against lawyers representing Falun Dafa practitioners, the Amnesty International report Falun Gong Practitioners: List of Sentences, Administrative Sentences and Those Detained does contain references to lawyers being pressured to have their clients plead guilty, lawyers failing to adequately defend clients who are practitioners, and lawyers themselves being subject to detention for appealing to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (23 March 2000a).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Acting Professor of Law, University of California at Los Angeles. 6 February 2001. Correspondence.
Amnesty International. 23 March 2000. (AI Index ASA 17/14/00) "News Release: China's Clampdown on 'Heretical Organizations'."
_____. 23 March 2000a. (AI Index ASA 17/11/00). Falun Gong Practitioners: List of Sentences, Administrative Sentences and Those Detained.
Report on Extensive and Severe Human Rights Violations in the Suppression of Falun Gong. March 2000.
Reuters Business Briefing. 24 August 1999. Benjamin Kang Lim. "China to Prosecute Falun Gong Leaders."