Denied Access to Private Prosecution, How Can the Courts Shield State Violence! - Press Conference on the Supreme Court's Need to Overturn the "Indiscriminate Ruling of the 'March 24 Executive Yuan Violent Eviction Private Prosecution Cases' as the 'Same Case'"

In the early hours of March 24, at the Executive Yuan, the state deployed police violence to disperse peaceful assembly participants. Scenes of injured individuals with bloodied heads and faces shocked the entire nation. Assisted by pro bono lawyers, the victims successively filed private prosecutions with the Taipei District Court, accusing the officials and police officers who should bear responsibility. (See the appendix table)

The first to file a private prosecution was an elderly 76-year-old man, Mr. Chou. Around 4:00 a.m. on March 24, Mr. Chou was sitting-in in front of the Executive Yuan. Due to his age, he was unable to leave immediately when armed police forces arrived. He was beaten with batons, kicked, struck with riot shields, and blasted with high-pressure water cannons by police officers, resulting in fractures to his ribs and lumbar transverse processes as well as an abdominal hematoma. On April 1, he filed charges against Ma Ying-jeou, Chiang Yi-huah (then-Premier), Wang Cho-chiun, and Fang Yang-ning (then-Chief of the Zhongzheng First Police Precinct).

Subsequently, another severely injured individual, Dr. Wang, also filed a private prosecution on April 15. At 3:00 a.m. on March 24, while sitting-in on the compound grounds, Dr. Wang and his wife witnessed the brutality of the police enforcement and decided to get up and leave. A riot police officer standing nearby told them, "Hey, good, hurry up and leave then," placing his left hand on Dr. Wang's shoulder while striking Dr. Wang's abdomen with his right fist, followed by a heavy baton blow to the head. Attempting to leave yet still subjected to police violence, Dr. Wang collapsed, lost consciousness, and experienced convulsions.

Unexpectedly, judges at the Taipei District Court and the Taiwan High Court ruled that these two cases belonged to the "same case," issuing a "dismissal" ruling against Dr. Wang's subsequent private prosecution, thereby leaving Dr. Wang with no legal recourse. Once handed down, this ruling caused an uproar among the team of lawyers and legal scholars. Should such a legal interpretation stand, the impact would extend far beyond Dr. Wang and all victims of the March 24 Executive Yuan incident. Even more gravely, in future cases involving numerous victims—particularly cases of state violence—whenever someone "first" files a private prosecution, all other victims would automatically forfeit their right to initiate one! This judicial ruling strips citizens of their right to private prosecution, violating the right to a judicial remedy guaranteed by the Constitution, Article 14 and Article 16 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and General Comment No. 32, while also shielding the perpetrators responsible for the violence.

The pro bono legal team has urgently filed an appeal with the Supreme Court and launched a stern protest against this legal interpretation of "simply wanting to dismiss cases and avoid trouble" while trampling on the rights of the people. The demands of the pro bono legal team are as follows:

1. Requesting the Supreme Court to Revoke and Remand the Improper Ruling of the High Court:
   These cases do not constitute the same case because the defendants and the criminal facts differ (the defendants' chains of command differ: Mr. Chou accused Ma Ying-jeou, Chiang Yi-huah, Wang Cho-chiun, and Fang Yang-ning, whereas Dr. Wang accused Chiang Yi-huah, Wang Cho-chiun, and Fang Yang-ning; the victims are different, the perpetrators who inflicted blows are different, and the locations of injury also differ).
   Furthermore, regardless of whether it is considered the same case, in situations involving multiple victims, forfeiting the right to legal action simply due to filing a private prosecution later in time deprives victims of their right to a judicial remedy. Moreover, entertaining only the first person's case clearly constitutes discriminatory treatment and infringes upon the constitutional right to a judicial remedy of parties in subsequent cases. Therefore, the Supreme Court must reject the High Court's improper view of stripping citizens of their right to private prosecution, so as to avoid shielding the perpetrators of state violence.
   
2. The Supreme Court Should Hold Public Oral Arguments:
   As previously mentioned, the controversy in this case involves the right to a judicial remedy and the principle of equality guaranteed by the people's Constitution, qualifying it as a "criminal case of legal significance or value." We urge the Supreme Court to hold public oral arguments to settle whether the two cases constitute the same case.
   

List of Private Prosecution Cases Filed Regarding the March 24 Executive Yuan Violent Eviction Incident

Date of Private Prosecution Filing	Private Prosecutor (46 persons in total)	Defendants
2014/04/01	Elderly Mr. Chou (Taipei District Court 103 Tzu No. 18, Kai Division)	Ma Ying-jeou, Chiang Yi-huah, Wang Cho-chiun, Fang Yang-ning
2014/04/15	Dr. Wang (Taipei District Court 103 Tzu No. 21, Chiao Division; High Court 103 Shang-Su No. 2971, Min Division)	Chiang Yi-huah, Wang Cho-chiun, Fang Yang-ning
2014/04/16	Legislator Chou Ni-an (Taipei District Court 103 Tzu No. 61, Wu Division)	Chiang Yi-huah, Wang Cho-chiun, Huang Sheng-yung, Fang Yang-ning, On-site Commander at the Beiping East Road Back Gate
2014/04/25	Lin OO and 18 others (Taipei District Court 103 Tzu No. 29, Neng Division)	Chiang Yi-huah, Wang Cho-chiun, Huang Sheng-yung, Fang Yang-ning, Unidentified Police Officer, Unidentified Commander
2014/05	Hsiao OO	Chiang Yi-huah, Wang Cho-chiun, Huang Sheng-yung, Fang Yang-ning, Tu Hsin-an, Unidentified Police Officer
2014/05/07	Huang OO and 22 others (Taipei District Court 103 Tzu No. 35, Jui Division)	Chiang Yi-huah, Wang Cho-chiun, Huang Sheng-yung, Fang Yang-ning, Tu Hsin-an, Unidentified Police Officer, Nangang Precinct Chief Yang Hung-cheng
2014/06/30	Chou OO	Chiang Yi-huah, Wang Cho-chiun, Huang Sheng-yung, Fang Yang-ning, Tu Hsin-an, Unidentified Police Officer
2014/09/12	Chiang OO	Chiang Yi-huah, Wang Cho-chiun, Huang Sheng-yung, Fang Yang-ning, Unidentified Police Officer

Attendees

Legal Defense Team / Attorney Wellington Koo, Attorney Yu Po-hsiang, Attorney Kao Yung-cheng, and 25 other pro bono defense attorneys

Parties Involved / Legislator Chou Ni-an, Huang Ming-tsung, and 13 other injured victims

Scholars / Professor Hu Po-yen

Civil Society Representatives / Attorney Lai Chung-chiang, Convener of the Economic Democracy Union; Chiu E-ling, Secretary-General of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights; Hung Sun-han, Deputy Secretary-General of the Green Citizens' Action Alliance; Chen Yu-fan, Deputy Executive Director of the Judicial Reform Foundation

Endorsing Organizations / Judicial Reform Foundation, Economic Democracy Union, Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Truth Investigation Group on the March 24 Executive Yuan Violent Crackdown, Taiwan Forever Association, Black Island Youth Front, Democracy Tautin, Green Citizens' Action Alliance, Foundation for Civic and Rule of Law Education, Miaoli Youth Coalition, Amnesty International Taiwan, Trees Party, Radical Wings

Press Contact

Judicial Reform Foundation, Attorney Chen Yu-fan 02-25231178