The Linfen City Procuratorate refused to accept the opinions of lawyers, and the Shanxi Provincial Procuratorate avoided the leadership responsibility of the higher authority.

The Linfen City Procuratorate refused to accept the opinions of lawyers, and the Shanxi Provincial Procuratorate avoided the leadership responsibility of the higher authority.

Linfen City Procuratorate refused to accept lawyers’ opinions and failed to perform legal supervisory duties.

In the case involving Li Jie, Han Xiaodong, Wang Qiang, and others from the Covenant Home Church, suspected of “fraud,” some defense lawyers, Fang Xiangui and Yuan Mao, reported the issue of erroneous prosecution by the Yaodu District Procuratorate to the Linfen City Procuratorate on July 10, 2023, but were refused receipt of materials by the Linfen City Procuratorate. The details are as follows:

1. The Yaodu District Procuratorate wrongly prosecuted the case, failed to investigate the investigators suspected of illegal evidence collection, and was suspected of corruption.

Home church believers, following Biblical principles and the church’s two-thousand-year tradition, cannot violate any national laws. Moreover, China has repeatedly issued documents and religious white papers publicly promising to protect religious freedom.

Christians’ contributions according to Biblical principles mean that whether registered or not, a church and its related personnel cannot be accused of fraud in the absence of suspected crimes.

Furthermore, the Linfen City Public Security Bureau’s Direct Branch is suspected of illegally initiating a case for fraud and then forcing “victims” to falsely report and fabricate cases. They are also suspected of illegal interrogation, physical punishment, and abuse of Li Jie, Han Xiaodong, and Wang Qiang during their residential surveillance.

In light of these circumstances, the Yaodu District Procuratorate not only failed to examine the facts that Li Jie and others did not constitute a crime, but also did not investigate the clues of crimes committed by relevant investigators, insisting on prosecution, suspected of corruption.

2. The lawyers legally reported the issue to the Linfen City Procuratorate but were not received by a prosecutor and their opinions were refused.

When the defense lawyers Fang and Yuan brought legal opinions to the Linfen City Procuratorate, the staff there initially said, “Is it that cult case?” The lawyers immediately corrected them. The Christian home church, established on Biblical principles, has a two-thousand-year tradition. How could it be called a cult? The staff then said, “It’s unregistered, right?” Whether a church is registered or not is an administrative issue. Being unregistered does not mean it’s not a church, and whether it’s a church or not is not for the administrative authorities to decide.

The staff then said the case was returned to the Yaodu District Procuratorate and was not under the jurisdiction of the Linfen City Procuratorate. The reception staff were ignorant of the relevant laws of the procuratorate, and the 12309 Prosecution Service Center of the city-level procuratorate surprisingly had no prosecutor to receive the lawyers. The department head, an official prosecutor of the eighth prosecution department, intentionally left work and refused to listen to the lawyers’ concerns. The Linfen City Procuratorate’s rude refusal of lawyers’ opinions should be condemned!

3. The higher-level procuratorate leads the work of the lower-level procuratorate. Citizens have the legal basis to report issues in the lower-level procuratorate to the higher-level one, and the higher-level procuratorate should receive them.

Articles 10 (2) and 24 (1) of the “Procuratorate Organization Law” clearly define the leadership relationship between higher and lower-level procuratorates. If the lower-level procuratorate makes an incorrect decision, the higher-level procuratorate should instruct it to correct, legally revoke, or change it…

On the morning of July 11, 2023, lawyers Fang and Yuan formally presented their legal supervisory opinions to the Shanxi Provincial Procuratorate, but the 12309 complaints department of the Shanxi Provincial Procuratorate mistakenly treated the formal legal opinions as a petition.

The Shanxi Provincial Procuratorate is urged not to avoid the leadership responsibilities stipulated by the “Procuratorate Organization Law” and the “People’s Procuratorate Criminal Procedure Rules.”

Legal provisions:

1. The higher-level procuratorate should lead the work of the lower-level procuratorate.
2. The higher-level procuratorate should instruct the lower-level procuratorate to correct, legally revoke, or change its incorrect decisions.
3. The chief prosecutor leads the work of the procuratorate, and major matters are decided by the chief prosecutor.

The Shanxi Provincial Procuratorate is requested to instruct the lower-level procuratorate to revoke the erroneous prosecution of this case!