CRIMINAL VERDICT AGAINST PASTOR LIU HUIWEN FROM PEOPLE'S COURT OF DONGXIANG NATIONALITY AUTONOMOUS COUNTY OF GANSU PROVINCE

China Aid Association
CRIMINAL VERDICT FROM PEOPLE’S COURT OF DONGXIANG
NATIONALITY AUTONOMOUS COUNTY
OF GANSU PROVINCE
(2007) Dong
Xing Chu Zi No. 43
October 25, 2007
Public Prosecution Organ: People’s Procuratorate of Dongxiang Nationality
Autonomous County.
Defendant:
Liu Huiwen. Male, born June 19, 1969, of Han nationality, has had a high school
education and his residence is at: Room 601, Unit 11, Building 19, Lanxing
Chaoshi, Wulipu, Chengguan District, Lanzhou
Municipality. He was originally
a worker at Lanxin Radio Factory and has quit his job. On April 28, 2007, he
was placed under criminal detention on suspicion of publishing works that
discriminate against and insult people of ethnic minorities. He was officially
arrested on May 31, 2007. He doesn’t have a previous criminal offense and is
currently detained at Dongxiang County Police Station.
Defense Attorney: Li
Dunyong, attorney of Kang De Law Firm of Beijing.
The Bill of Indictment of Dong Jian Gong Su (2007) No.
41 from Dongxiang County Procuratorate charges that the defendant Liu Huiwen
committed the crime of publishing works that discriminate against and insult
people of ethnic minorities and filed a public
prosecution at this court on September 14, 2007. After this court accepted
the case, it formed a collegial panel as required by
law and tried the case in an open court. Tang Guohai, procurator assigned by
the County Procuratorate attended the court to
support this public prosecution. The defendant Liu Huiwen and his defense
attorney Li Dunyong also attended the court for the lawsuit. The trial of the
case is now concluded.
Dongxiang County Procuratorate charged that on April
26, 2007, the defendant Liu Huiwen got on a bus at Daban
Township and came to the Manping Group
in Ketuo Village. Taking advantage of the
presence of many people, he distributed “A Letter to Our Muslim Friends” that
carries with it ethnic discrimination and incites ethnic hatred. It caused a
strong reaction from many local Muslims who reported to the public security
bureau in time. Officers from the public security bureau arrived at the scene
to stop him and confiscated 153 letters. They also confiscated 9,000 letters
and other objects. The major pieces of evidence sent to the above-mentioned
public prosecution organ are as follows:
Photos of the confiscated objects, documentary evidence that includes the manuscript of “A
Letter to Our Muslim Friends,” printed materials, agreement on the printing
job, technical process of the printing, evaluation document of the handwriting
identification, written records of the search, possession and confiscation and
the statements on the confiscated objects, proof of the defendant’s identity,
testimonies from the witnesses, the defendant’s statements and arguments, etc. The public prosecution organ thinks
that the provision in Article 250 of “The Criminal Law of the People’s Republic
of China”
applies to the conduct of the defendant Liu Huiwen that constitutes the crime
of discriminating against and insulting people of ethnic minorities. It has
therefore asked this court to sentence him according to law.
During the court trial, the defendant Liu Huiwen admitted that he did
distribute “A Letter to Our Muslim Friends.” However, he argued that there is
no discrimination against or insult on the people of ethnic minorities in the
letter. His defense attorney claimed that 1) The public letter of the defendant
in this case does not contain any discrimination or insult against people of
ethnic minorities; 2) that the public letter was not intended for the people of
ethnic minorities; 3) that the defendant does not have any subjective intent to
insult the people of ethnic minorities; 4) that this case is of minor
circumstance; 5) that the conduct of the defendant has not exceeded the
boundary set for freedom of speech. In summary, the defense attorney thinks Liu
Huiwen’s conduct does not constitute the crime of publishing works that
discriminate against and insult people of ethnic minorities.
It is found through the investigation that the
defendant Liu Huiwen became a Christian in December 1995. In October 2004, the
defendant Liu Huiwen came to Daban Township of Dongxiang County from Lanzhou and rented Room 302 in Mahucai
Building in Daban Township
in the name of a shoe business. He preached Christianity in Daban Township,
Wangji and other places in Dongxiang
County. On April 26,
2007, the defendant Liu Huiwen came to Manping Group, Ketuo Village
in the town. On that day, over a thousand people attended a funeral for an old
man who had just passed away. At a time when there were many people at the
funeral, the defendant Liu Huiwen distributed to the local people “A Letter to
Our Muslim Friends” (hereafter referred to as ‘public letter’) that he had
printed beforehand and that contained words that discriminate against and
insult people of ethnic minorities. The public letter aroused indignation from
the Muslims and some of them used cuss words and threatened to physically
assault the defendant Liu Huiwen. Therefore, the defendant Liu Huiwen fled the
scene. After that, the police officers arrived on being informed of this
incident and took Liu Huiwen to the public security bureau. In the meantime,
the police officers confiscated 153 copies of the public letter that they
collected from the people in the local area and confiscated 9,000 copies of the
public letter, 523 copies of the Bible, 1,745 discs and some tapes and
propaganda photos and other objects from the room Liu rents.
Through the proofs and questioning during the court
trial, the main pieces of evidence to support the above facts are:
1) 129 photos of the objects confiscated by the
public security bureau presented at the court, including the confiscated public
letter. Both the defendant and the defense attorney have no disagreement
thereof.
2) Written records on
the search, possession and confiscation and the statements from the police
which have confirmed the categories and amount of the confiscated objects and
the fact that the public letter contains words that discriminate against and
insult people of ethnic minorities.
3) Documentary evidence
of the manuscript of “A Letter to Our Muslim Friends,” printed materials,
evaluation document of the handwriting identification, agreement on the
printing job, technical process of the printing, which have proven the fact
that the defendant Liu Huiwen wrote the public letter and paid the funds for
the printing.
4) Testimonies from witnesses Ma Fu, Ma Fuxiang,
Ma Fulin, Ma Chenglin, Tuokelimu, Ma Rulin, Gaohalunai, and others that confirm
the fact: On the day of the funeral, the defendant Liu Huiwen distributed the
public letter and aroused the indignation of the Muslims and caused social instabilities
in the local area.
5) The defendant Liu Huiwen confessed: “I was
aware that doing this (referring to distributing the public letter) could put
my own life in danger.”
The above facts have been verified through the proofs
and questionings at the court trial. They corroborate
each other and are therefore confirmed.
This court holds that the defendant Liu Huiwen defied
the law of the state and wrote the public letter that he printed in large
quantities and distributed in a large gathering of Muslims. It has caused
indignation from the local Muslims and caused instabilities in the local
society. It is a case involving a vicious circumstance and has caused serious consequences.
His conduct has violated the provisions set in Article 250 of “The Criminal Law
of the People’s Republic of China”
and constitutes the crime of publishing works that discriminate against and
insult people of ethnic minorities. Therefore, the charge from the public
prosecution organ is established. The reasons for the defense and the defense
pleadings submitted during the trial by the defendant and the defense attorney
that the defendant’s conduct does not constitute the crime of discriminating
against and insulting people of ethnic minorities do not conform with the facts
in this case and are therefore not adopted. It is found through the
investigation that the public letter does contain vicious wordings that
discriminate against and insult people of ethnic minorities. The place where
the defendant Liu Huiwen distributed the public letter is a community of people
of Chunxiang nationality where people believe in Islam. Before he distributed
the public letter, he was already aware that his life could be in danger if he
did so. Yet, he went there anyway by risking his life. Obviously, he had the
subjective intent which can be applied to Article 14 of the “Criminal Law.” The
public letter written by the defendant Liu Huiwen contain some vicious wordings
and the large number and wide area of distribution of the letter have aroused
the indignation from the Muslims, which caused instabilities in the society. It
has a vicious circumstance and caused serious consequences. Publishing is a way
of expressing one’s freedom of speech. It is stipulated in Article 26 of
“Regulations on Administration of Publications” that no publications can be
published that contain discriminations and insults. In this case, the public
letter the defendant Liu Huiwen wrote, printed and distributed has the content
forbidden by the law and that cannot be allowed by the law. He should be
punished for his conduct. The defendant Liu Huiwen refused to plead guilty
during the court trial and this has been taken into consideration for a more
serious penalty during the sentencing. To maintain the public order and
safeguard the religious harmony and ethnic unity and to vigorously fight
criminal activities of insulting people of ethnic minorities, this court has
ruled as follows pursuant to Article 210 and Article 64 of “The Criminal Law of
the People’s Republic of China:”
The defendant Liu Huiwen has committed the crime of
publishing works that discriminate against and insult people of ethnic
minorities and is hereby sentenced to a fix-term of one year and six months. (The
term of the sentence starts from the day of execution of this verdict and each
day of detention before this verdict is counted as a day of imprisonment. That
is, the term is from April 28, 2007 through October 27, 2008. This court also
confiscates the public letter and other objects that the defendant Liu Huiwen
used during the crime and that were confiscated by the public security bureau.
Should the defendant refuse to accept this judgment,
he can submit an appeal within 10 days from the second day he receives this
judgment. He can submit the appeal through this court or directly to
Intermediate People’s Court of Linxia Hui Nationality Autonomous Prefecture. The
written appeal should be submitted in one original copy and two photo copies.
Chief Judge: Ma Zhenglong
Judge: Tang Zhanwu
Assistant
Judge: Ma Yulong
Court Clerk: Ma Xiaolin