 Judge tries case from across steel partition
 Defendant receives judgment in another room
 Suspect’s state of mind unusually calm
 Verdict to be announced next week

On the morning of June 10, China’s first HIV-positive criminal suspect goes on trial in Wuhan. The 25 year old suspect, Liu Qiang, will enter court after being held in custody for eight months. Because of his special status, the local court has constructed a special courtroom, with the entire trial process being carried out with special care. It was explained that last year the Wuhan Police department opened a special detention facility to house this suspect, with special staff to guard him, at a cost of 70,000 RMB. This is the first such detention facility for suspects with HIV/AIDS.

Sentencing dock built above corridor

Before 9am on the morning of the 10th, it was extremely busy in a tiny room on the outskirts of Wuhan. This is where the accused, Liu Qiang, is being detained, and due to his special medical condition the court has moved the trial venue here. The dock has been constructed above the hallway, and the lawyers and prosecution sitting on different sides. Liu Qiang sits inside the detention room, separated by a metal barrier. Along with him to hear the sentencing is his fellow suspect, Wan Deqiang.

Because the entire detention facility is only 40 square meters, the sentencing venue was crowded and simple and crudely built, but the procedure wasn’t the least bit ambiguous: The prosecutor, defendant and other plaques necessary in court were all properly displayed, the judge was still robed in heavy judge’s garb, and the defending attorney was wearing lawyer’s uniform. Liu Qiang was behind a dividing barrier, in the “living quarters”, for sentencing. Before this, the Hanyang District judge had conducted a preparatory meeting to discuss the trial process, and “stressed the issue of safety.”

Judges apply “Wenbuding” (mosquito repellent)

“It is not necessary to discuss the identity of Liu Qiang, but the other defendant, Wan Deqiang is a dangerous character and has suicidal tendencies,” lead prosecutor Liang Hong said. This reporter also discovered the following incident: Before arriving at the detention facility, each of the three judges took special precautions – each one applied some “wenbuding” mosquito repellent.

“There are a lot of mosquitoes here” chief prosecutor Liang Hong said

“Before arriving, were the judges a little bit afraid?”

Liang Hong laughed: “This is just a normal criminal case, though the first time one sees Liu Qiang, it’s a bit unsettling. My husband and child know that I’m prosecuting a case with an HIV-positive suspect, and they’re not at all worried.

 Flashback
 Detained in October 2003

25 year-old Liu Qiang started committing crimes on his own or with other in 2001, altogether committing eight thefts involving goods with a value of more than 22,000 RMB. They included four robberies involving 4,900RMB worth of goods. In October last year (2003) he was detained, then arrested a month later.

It is reported that Liu Qiang is from Iron Bridge village in Hanyang district, that he started doing drugs when he was 14, and that five years later while in compulsory licensing it was discovered that he was HIV-positive. Afterwards, he frequently committed crimes in the neighborhood, and public security authorities detained him many times. In early October last year, the Wuhan City Public Security Bureau made adjustments and organized a special detention and treatment facility. On October 14, Liu Qiang was legally arrested.

People’s Congress delegate becomes defense attorney

After hearing the news of his sentencing, Liu Qiang made repeated requests to see his defense attorney, saying that he “I have many things to say, I want to talk to my lawyer”. Hubei’s Hongfeng Law offices Gong Yuefeng is Liu Qiang’s defense attorney, she presented documentation of this.

In accordance with Liu Qiang’s request, the Hanyang district court promptly informed the Hanyang district prosecutor’s office of his request, and the prosecutor’s office then “chose” the Wuhan City people’s delegate Gong Yuefeng.

Before this case went to court, Gong Yuefeng met with Liu Qiang three times. According to Gong Yuefeng, when she met with Liu Qiang, she felt what he needed most was human contact, and that Liu Qiang had told her: “Since 1999 when I was diagnosed as being infected with HIV, nobody has been willing to talk to me, everyone has avoided me.” Therefore, every time Gong Yuefeng went to the detention center he was very happy.

“Every time we mostly discussed things other than the case, he needed to pour out his troubles, because so few people were willing to speak with him,” said Gong Yuefeng. Isolated behind the iron barriers of the detention facility, Liu Qiang sits in his own “room” and talks about his bitter experiences. In the intervals between Liu Qiang’s “narratives”, he taught himself some legal knowledge, and slowly eliminated his low spirits. On the 9th, Gong Yuefeng agreed to Liu Qiang’s request and again visited him in the detention facility. Gong Yuefeng said: “I’m prepared after the end of this trial to follow Liu Qiang for a long time, to give him whatever help I can, materially and spiritually, because when you are stuck in the predicament of being a person with HIV, the likelihood of taking risks gets higher.”

 The Accused
 Unusually Calm Mood During the Court’s Sentencing

When receiving the sentence, “Liu Qiang was a bit nervous, after all this was a case that had a great impact on him,” Liu Qiang’s warder said. But when the court came into session, what made the chief judge Liang Hong and the other judges feel a bit strange was that “everything went extremely smoothly in the court, Liu Qiang was very calm, his mood was very stable, he was extremely cooperative during the entire process, he agreed with all of the criminal charges and details of the crimes posed by the inspectors.”

Suggested that he “voluntarily confessed”

At 11am of the day the case went to court, Liu Qiang in his own self-defense proposed that he had “voluntarily confessed”. The basis for his belief that he “voluntarily confessed” is that on 14 October last year, when he was criminally detained by the Wuhan public security Hanyang district substation, he had himself made the call to the police. “That day, I was making trouble in one neighborhood of Hanyang district, I wanted them to give me some money to go buy drugs,” he said. “They called the police, and the police came and took me away, but because I already had many experiences of being in and out [of the station], and the police just told me to stop making trouble, at that time I learned the number of the main Wuhan police department, and immediately called them and had them arrest me. Later, they came and took me away.

Another point was that “every time at the police station I made a record of everything, I told the truth about all the crimes I committed.”

Lawyer applied for three days to get proof

Liu Qiang’s lawyer Gong Yuefeng requested that the judge give them three days to find evidence of this claim that Liu Qiang made.

There is another thing that was beneficial for Liu Qiang: the indictment acknowledges that he “showed great merit”. This “great merit” refers to the early morning of 9 May 2002, when, in collusion with a young man surnamed Jiang, he was caught trying to steal a motorcycle. He voluntarily confessed, and turned in his fellow in crime, Jiang. In December 2002, the Hanyang district court sentenced Jiang to a year in prison for theft. So as a “special criminal suspect”, is it possible to get a lighter treatment? According to the judge, there is no circumstance for people with AIDS getting a lighter or reduced treatment.

Scared of bumping the judge’s hand

After the court recessed at 11:30, another incident caught one’s attention: According to normal procedures, the accused should sign his name on the court record, and take the record in his hand. This would mean that the judge would have to get close to Liu Qiang at one moment, nearly “touching”.

Liu Yansheng, the chief of the Hanyang district Number One Criminal Court, who was listening to the whole case, took the court record and handed it to him between a crack in the protective barrier. At that time and unexpected event took place. Liu Qiang didn’t use his hand to take the record, instead using two fingers to grab the corner of it very lightly. After he signed it, he handed it back the same way, as if he were scared to bump the judge’s hand. Seeing Liu Qiang so very careful, Liu Yansheng laughed a little and told him “don’t be so nervous, you needn’t be so careful actually.”

 Experts
 Calling on Society not to Discriminate against People with HIV/AIDS

At 11:25, Liu Qiang started his final statement. His words were very brief, only two sentences: “First, I hope that the court will rule fairly; Second I hope that society will care more for people with HIV/AIDS, not discriminate against people with AIDS.”

Professor Gui Xi’en, an AIDS expert from Zhongnan medical school, proposed a deeper question: He said “Liu Qiang’s expression should make us consider why they have taken the road of crime, analyze a little the many layers and factors involved, and from this prevent them from committing crimes.” “In everyday life, we should strive to not discriminate against people with HIV/AIDS, to care even more about them!” Gui Xi’en reiterated.

 Judge
 Sentence Will be Announced Next Week at the Latest

According to the judge, this case is actually relatively clear, and there should be a sentence in the next week. What happens after Liu Qiang is sentenced? The Hanyang district Number One Criminal Court chief Liu Yansheng said: “The problem of how Liu Qiang will be imprisoned after sentencing is a difficult issue, because the prison system doesn’t have a special facility to hold this special class of prisoner, there isn’t a place to hold prisoners with HIV/AIDS. At present, the Wuhan public security bureau is in discussion with the provincial prison department in order to resolve the question of how to imprison Liu Qiang.” It is understood that the Wuhan public security bureau may construct a detention center with space for 20 inmates at the site of the current detention facility in order to hold suspects with HIV/AIDS.

Source: Beijing Youth Daily