Press Conference on the First-Instance Judgment in the March 23 Executive Yuan Occupation Case – Post-Conference Press Release

Today the court delivered its first-instance judgment in the March 23 Executive Yuan Occupation Case from three years ago. Apart from the charge of trespassing, for which the Executive Yuan had already withdrawn its complaint, the defendants were acquitted of offenses including instigating others to commit offenses and aggravated theft, but were found "guilty" of obstructing public officials and damaging property under the custody of a public official. We deeply regret the convictions. The court failed to understand the reasons that compelled the people to take to the streets, implicitly endorsing the police violence of three years ago and deeming anyone who entered the Executive Yuan a rioter whose state suppression was a natural necessity. The defendants will discuss with their lawyers whether to appeal, urging the state to face up to its own mistakes from three years ago!

A total of 132 people were indicted by the state in the March 23 case. The Executive Yuan had already withdrawn its complaints against 111 of them, so the focus of this judgment was whether the remaining 21 had committed other offenses. We welcome the court's judgment acquitting everyone of instigating others to commit offenses, which underscores the priority of protecting freedom of speech. However, the convictions for obstructing public officials and damaging property under the custody of a public official are the regrettable part of this case.

The movement against the Service Trade Agreement should be viewed as a whole. When the March 18 Legislative Yuan Occupation Case ended in acquittals at the end of March, the March 23 Executive Yuan Occupation Case—an integral part of the same movement—should have received a corresponding outcome. The mixed result of partial convictions and partial acquittals stems from the judge severing the defendants' actions that night from the movement against the Service Trade Agreement, thereby completely negating the legitimacy of entering the Executive Yuan that night.

We hope that the state will cease using judicial means to suppress protests. We are deeply angered by the police and prosecutors' mass prosecution of participants, which highlights our nation's lack of protection for assemblies and parades and its wrongful use of criminal law to suppress the people. Regarding the judgment, we urge the prosecution not to appeal the acquittals, while decisions on whether to appeal the convictions will be made after discussions with the defendants.

Judgment List

Name	Indicted Offense	Judgment
Wei O	Instigating others to commit offenses	Not Guilty
Chen O-hao	Instigating others to commit offenses	Not Guilty
Hsu O	Instigating others to commit offenses	Not Guilty
Lin O-hsing	Instigating others to commit offenses	Not Guilty
Chiang O-lun	Instigating others to commit offenses	Not Guilty
Liu O-wen	Instigating others to commit offenses	Not Guilty
Hsu O-chih	Instigating others to commit offenses	Not Guilty
	Damaging property under the custody of a public official	Guilty, sentenced to 4 months imprisonment
Ko O-yu	Instigating others to commit offenses	Not Guilty
Lin O-yu	Obstructing public officials	Guilty, sentenced to 4 months imprisonment
Wu O-tao	Obstructing public officials	Guilty, sentenced to 3 months imprisonment
Liu O-ming	Obstructing public officials	Guilty, sentenced to 3 months imprisonment
Hsu O-jung	Obstructing public officials	Guilty, sentenced to 5 months imprisonment
Chen O-pin	Obstructing public officials	Guilty, sentenced to 4 months imprisonment
Wu O-yen	Obstructing public officials	Not Guilty
Chen O-cheng	Obstructing public officials	Guilty, sentenced to 4 months imprisonment
Huang O-yang	Obstructing public officials	Guilty, sentenced to 4 months imprisonment
Hsieh O-yu	Obstructing public officials	Guilty, sentenced to 4 months imprisonment
Wang O-yi	Aggravated theft	Not Guilty
Kuo O-hao	Aggravated theft	Not Guilty
Li O-ling	Damaging property under the custody of a public official	Guilty, sentenced to 4 months imprisonment
Huang O-chi	Damaging property under the custody of a public official	Guilty, sentenced to 5 months imprisonment

Attendees

Pro bono defense team / Yu Po-hsiang, Esq., Hsueh Chin-feng, Esq., Tseng Wei-kai, Esq., Chien Hsu-cheng, Esq.
Defendants in the March 23 Executive Yuan Occupation Case
Citizens injured in the March 23–24 violent clearance of the Executive Yuan

Press Contact

Ho Yu-lun / Legal Researcher, Judicial Reform Foundation 02-25231178#20