2015年CRI 新证据揭示锋锐律师事务所律师庭外不当行为

 

According to a statement released by the Ministry¹ of Public Security, the nine lawyers, and several other staff members, who have been charged are employed by the Beijing-based Fengrui Law Firm.

They were detained earlier this month for organizing protests outside courts to help get favorable verdicts for clients.

Zhou Shifeng, director of the firm, is in police custody² and has pleaded guilty.

"We hired non-professional lawyers and former politicians in order to get more publicity³ and make the firm famous. Some of them did break the law or even committed crimes when they were dealing⁴ with specific cases."

Xinhua has reported that many of the suspects have admitted to hyping up ordinary legal issues as human rights cases to get international attention.

Police say since 2012, Zhou's group has orchestrated more than 40 controversial court incidents.

Video from a court hearing in April in the northeastern city of Shenyang showed several defense⁵ lawyers shouting and screaming shortly after a trial opened, despite calls for order from the judge.

Police were also targeted, with Fengrui lawyer Wang Yu pointing fingers at court police and calling them "hooligans."

Zhai Yanmin is one of the suspects who were allegedly paid by Fengrui to organize "human rights" demonstrations⁶.

According to him, making a scene and then being forced out of court was the group's usual tactic⁷, attempting to paint themselves as victims, induce sympathy, and hype cases among the public.

"Several times I saw Wang raising a row with court workers and forced out of court. When she was outside the court, she actively⁸ interacted with protesters there and joined them in holding up protest signs and shouting slogans. I guess she was trying to create pressure and sway court decisions by all means."

Saturday's statement also revealed evidence pointing to possible tax evasion⁹ and bribing¹⁰ of officials in order to win cases.

The news has triggered wide reaction inside legal circle here in China, with many condemning¹¹ such behaviors.

He Yong is a senior official with the Ministry of Justice.

"Lawyers are supposed to help push forward the rule of law, contribute to rule of law in our country, and set an example in respecting, observing, and applying the law. Acts of a minority of lawyers have gone far beyond ethics¹² and legal limits."

During an interview with Xinhua, Wang Jinxi, a law professor with China University of Political Science and Law, said “being a lawyer does not mean they can break the law, and no country allows people to carry out criminal activities just because they are lawyers."

For CRI, this is Wang Mengzhen.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

3 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

8 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

9 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

10 bribing   

贿赂

参考例句：

• He tried to escape by bribing the guard. 他企图贿赂警卫而逃走。
• Always a new way of bribing unknown and maybe nonexistent forces. 总是用诸如此类的新方法来讨好那不知名的、甚或根本不存在的魔力。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

11 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。