Ji Sizun, jail an innocent

A year ago it took place in the Olympics and the Beijing regime's commitment to improve its record on human rights remains unfulfilled. The Chinese judicial system is closer to "The Process of Kafka than of a genuine rule of law.

Ji Sizun is a self-taught lawyer who represented many poor people, sometimes without pay. A year ago, the fourth day of the Olympics in Beijing wanted to demonstrate in one of the "park official protest. Instead, he ended up in jail.

Liu, a Beijing lawyer of 45 years, traveling regularly to Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, where he currently is in prison for four clients. Three of them signed the Charter 08 calling for a new constitution, a new political system and ultimately a new China. Liu feels a deep bond with people who are treated unfairly and defend legally. The German Deutsche Welle television gave him an award, the Chinese regime denied exit visa to travel to Germany unable to receive it in person. Another incident in the daily game of power.

His fourth case is especially complicated in Fujian, a man who disappeared during the Olympics. It's Ji Sizun whose fate is unknown. Now it is known to be detained in prison Wuyishan, located amidst a beautiful landscape world heritage site, so visit it is very complicated.

Why was arrested Ji? I want to protest? Why be a critic of the regime? Why try to damage the image of China during the Olympics, when he was prime? He was sentenced to 3 years in prison for something completely ridiculous "intentional falsification of documents and their national sovereign stamps." This exposes the deceit with which the Chinese regime enveloped naive IOC. But this sounds ridiculous because it is impossible for the IOC and its president Jacques Rogge could close our eyes to the evident persecution of Tibetans, Uighurs and Falun Gong.

Ji is expected to end up in a labor camp in rehabilitation or who was killed in an alleged accident. However, he was taken to the National Bureau of appeals where the case is once again behind closed doors. The delegates from the province were already waiting. It is a feature of every Chinese province has liaison offices in Beijing and is responsible for his people when they are in the capital.

As officials of the appeal did not show interest, Ji was sent to his province, and detained at the hotel Agriculture Zhangzhou City under house arrest. So far their search would have been impossible, the Chinese authorities operate in secret, politicians have no interest in transparency, the police are a world apart and the judicial machinery is limited only hear about it in public when it serves the interests of Chinese Communist Party's propaganda. The most sensitive issues are discussed behind closed doors. But here was a serious problem that did not accuse Ji. There was no case had not committed any crime, even a minor.

After the Cultural Revolution, Ji worked in a mine, then was assigned as a clerk. Studied law on his own and became a legal expert, who represent people who can not afford a lawyer. In many cases, their fees waived if the customer was right but could not afford.

He helped defend the workers against police abuses and defended in court to older women who had been expropriated without compensation to build a hydroelectric dam. Helped teachers to receive their pensions and negotiated the payment of damages to the victims of accidents. In 2005, managed to expose a network of corrupt politicians in Fuzhou, party members and police officers taking them to court. Seventeen people were charged in the case sounded more and were collectively sentenced to 113 years in prison. Had accumulated a lot of enemies.

While he was detained at the Hotel de l'Agriculture, the police discovered incriminating documents in the department of Ji: sealed forms to fill their clients had to be their legal representative. The forms had basic information such as customer name, age, address and marital status. All with the stamp of their reception by the court as "Justice Center Confirmation of legal representation." The police and the district attorney later said that the forms were forged and that the forger was Ji.

This was a case of house arrest he was taken to a detention center south of the city. Hence, Ji was tortured with sleep deprivation, he was interrogated for hours and then forced to stay awake for 16 hours and even 25 to 30 hours. So far refused to confess their alleged crimes, but as they threatened to take him to the cell with the officials who had helped shut, said they wanted to hear that he had falsified stamps.

The authorities took his confession and the January 7 and had his sentence of 3 years in prison. While under torture alleged coercion, the judge did not listen.

China has laws and regulations. In the case of Ji is not difficult to realize that no matter how trivial is one of 13 "papers" as defined by law as to stamps, the first sentence states that legislation should be round and not oval as Papers in Ji. The evidence on which the court based its decision were the same evidence of the innocence of the condemned.

On the morning of his arrest on August 11, 2008, Ji said: "There are great powers that are against me, but I am not alone, many of us." Many who are struggling to make China a free country.