Shanghai petitioner Li Ping, who was sentenced to two years in prison for alleged provocation and troublemaking during a visit to Beijing last year, appealed the conviction and appeared in court at the Second Intermediate People’s Court of Shanghai on the afternoon of April 7. Witnesses from the Shanghai petitioner community who attended the hearing recently revealed that Li Ping was brought to court in restraints, with her hands cuffed behind her back, wearing ankle shackles, and dressed in a restraining garment.
During the court session, Li Ping made allegations of torture, poisoning, and denial of medical assistance by the Yangpu District detention center. However, the judge interrupted her accusations and declared a recess. Defense lawyer Wang Shengsheng requested bail for Li Ping and permission to seek medical treatment outside, but the requests were denied.
At around 2 p.m. on April 7, in courtroom C110 of the Second Intermediate People’s Court of Shanghai, a frail Li Ping, dressed in thin underwear and pants, appeared with her hands restrained, her body secured with restraining straps, her legs in shackles, and a long feeding tube inserted through her nostrils.
One of the Shanghai petitioners who attended the hearing, Yu Zhonghuan, told reporters, “All 9 observers present were deeply distressed by the treatment of Li Ping. When lawyer Wang Shengsheng inquired about the situation, the judge explained that the restraints were imposed by the Yangpu District detention center. Wang Shengsheng repeatedly requested the judge to unlock the restraints so that Li Ping could speak freely. However, the judge claimed they did not have the key.”
According to Yu Zhonghuan, Li Ping’s allegations included reports of enduring torture, abuse, poisoning, beatings by fellow inmates, and being denied medical care at the Yangpu District detention center since she was detained there in early July last year. Li Ping described being given medication that worsened her condition, causing kidney pain, liver pain, bladder pain, ear pain, and refusing to take the medication resulted in even more suffering. Li Ping believed she was being poisoned, leading to rapid deterioration of her health and severe weight loss.
Li Ping requested to go to a city hospital for medical treatment with her family, but the female prison guards not only denied her request but also forcibly restrained her while a doctor drew blood against her will. Faced with such injustices, Li Ping resorted to a hunger strike as a form of protest, only to face more brutal persecution.
One male police officer at the detention center expressed that Li Ping did not need to be restrained while in the presence of a female officer due to her behavior. However, disregarding the law and Li Ping’s fragile health, the female officer not only restrained Li Ping with handcuffs and shackles but also tightly secured her with additional restraints.
At that point, the judge interrupted Li Ping and announced a recess, scheduling a new hearing date.
After the recess, lawyer Wang Shengsheng immediately went to the detention center to investigate the situation. The detention center personnel rationalized that they restrained Li Ping because of her hunger strike. She was locked up in solitary confinement wearing restraints all over her body. Li Ping relayed to the lawyer: “I requested to eat and drink with the company of my family, but the prison guards cruelly responded, ‘You want to eat? You won’t be allowed to eat! Should we feed you forcibly?'”
Li Ping had been petitioning for over ten years since her sole residence was forcibly demolished by the Yangpu District government, facing repeated suppression and persecution. In 2017, she was wrongfully sentenced to a year and five months for provocation and troublemaking by the Yangpu District Court, and in 2023, she was once again wrongfully sentenced to two years.
Due to the unresolved issues endured in their years of petitioning, Li Ping’s son became desperate and tragically jumped from the seventh floor of their rented home, resulting in severe disabilities.
On the afternoon of June 28, 2023, Li Ping went to the National Bureau of Letters and Calls in Beijing to raise concerns but was intercepted by Shanghai representatives in Beijing and subsequently detained in Shanghai by the Yangpu District Letters and Calls Bureau. She was then falsely charged with “provocation and troublemaking” and sentenced to 2 years in prison.
Upon Li Ping’s imprisonment, her son and ex-husband were also detained, and the two were held in a secretive black prison on Chongming Island for over three months.