The Judicature is Guilty; the Three is Not Guilty—Let Hsi-chih Trio Try the Justice Continuously!
A United Statement issued by The Humanistic Education Foundation, Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Judicial Reform Foundation
20070629
It was 16 years ago that the Trial of Hsi-chih Trio had first sparked the enormous attention from every part of the Taiwanese society. In 2003, the three convicts Su Chien-Ho, Liu Bing-Lang and Chuang Lin-Hsun were announced acquitted for the first time by the High Court’s criminal court, but this morning, Jun 29, 2007, the Court has shockingly reversed its judgment to sentence the three with death penalty. We are tremendously disappointed in the High Court’s verdict and here we express our remorse and protest altogether to the injustice that Taiwan’s judicial system has done to its own people:
1. Su, Liu and Chuang are Innocent; Humanitarian Groups Will Never Compromise
We consider the execution of the Trial of Hsi-chih Trio the most unprofessional and inhumane one in Taiwan’s judicial history. The three defendants are the victims of the abused prosecutorial and police power, and the judgment in this case serves as the darkest example for the violations of “Assumption of non-guilty” and the “Rule of Strict Evidence” of our country’s court. Under the condition that the prosecutor could not provide any evidence for the three defendants’ alleged crimes, the three should be pleaded as “non-guilty” according to law! We will never stop rescue to the three innocent defendants; we will never give up our insistence for a “non-guilty” judgment.
2. Pleaded Guilty, Where Are the Evidences?
One country can call its own judicial system “civil”, but the existence of the controversial Hsi-chih Trio only proves it otherwise; the guiltless defendants are still pleaded guilty, what a shame for the Taiwan’s law circle to bear. During the recent remanded trial, the pro bono put a great appeal for the Court’s consent of Dr. Henry C. Lee, the prestigious forensic specialist and criminologist, to testify on the court. Doctor Lee has provided 18 new evidences which tended to overturn the evidences and hypotheses the prosecutor had given to convict the three; nevertheless, the Court refused to scrutinize the new evidences and to abide by the “Assumption of non-guilty” and the “Rule of Strict Evidence” in the criminal law; the carelessness of our High Court is all reflected in its new verdict for the Trio.
3. International Protest of The Brutish Law
While continuing our legal rescue in the case of Hsi-chih Trio, various humanitarian and judicial reform groups want to express their appeal: “Guilty is the judicature, not the defendants!” Within these 16 years what have been tried by our court were not the three guiltless people, but the unjust country and its unjust judicial system. We will never stop trying any legal paths to rescue the three, but after many years of action, we admit that we are loosing faith in the country’s judicature. For 16 years many major international human rights organizations—Amnesty International (AI), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)—all paid long-term attention to this trial. Thus we hope to expand our rescuing network oversea, as far as to the human rights department in the United Nation.
4. Be with them in this road
It’s been one and a half decade. We were hoping that this remanded trial would be the end of the Hsi-chih Trio and the end of injustice to the three; apparently we were mistaken and were forced to embark on to the 17th year of our rescuing action. We hope the populace will continue their support to Su, Liu, Chuang and their families; the humanitarian and judicial reform groups will continue to monitor the trial, and hope that in the future more people and resource will join our fight. We pray that our determination will rinse the murky mark the uncivilized judicature had imprinted on them 16 years ago.
If their bodies are caged, their souls are free; let history be their judge and return them the final freedom they have exchanged with their youth. If our judges would not admit their fraud, then the Trial of Hsi-chih Trio will continue to try their conscience!
