(Clearwisdom.net) On August 20, seven practitioners were illegally put on trial by Hefei Suburban District Court. They are:

1. Zuo Qixiang, from Hefei City, a college graduate;
2. Li Chuanfeng, from Shandong Province, a postdoctoral student of China's University of Science and Technology, who had won an award from the Chinese Academy of Science for his contributions in the field of Quantum Mechanics;
3. Zhao Gang, from Jiangxi Province, a Ph.D student of the Geophysics department from the Chinese University of Science and Technology, graduate of a gifted program at the university, and an accomplished scholar who has many publications in international journals;
4. Li Guofeng, from Jiangxi Province, holds a Master's degree in Physics-Chemistry, is a lecturer at Anhui University since 2001, and also has published articles in international journals;
5. Xue Tingxiao, from Jiangsu Province, a Ph.D student of Physical Chemistry, with publications in international journals;
6. Zhang Jin, from Hefei City, a graduate of Anhui Architectural College and once an employee of Anhui Province, Light Industrial Products Institute of Design, and later a lecturer at the Xinhua Vocational Institute of Anhui Province;
7. Li Yang, from Xinjiang Autonomous Region, a worker at a travel agency in Hefei City.

The seven practitioners were arrested for accessing Minghui Net. After being detained for over a year, this was the first time they were arraigned in court. In the face of groundless accusations, intimidation and other tactics and tricks employed by the police, each and every one of them declared that all accusations against them were groundless, that they had never done anything illegal, and that they were innocent based on the Constitution. Their lawyers who had prepared their defense changed their pleas to "not guilty," influenced by the righteous thoughts of the practitioners. The prosecutors didn't know what to do, although they were very upset. It was very inspiring to all that were present.

In the morning, uniformed and plainclothes police were everywhere inside and outside of the courtroom. Only three members from each practitioner's family were allowed to sit in the trial. Many people were barred from going in, including many Falun Dafa practitioners. When the court opened, the music of Pu Du was heard and at the same time, many practitioners were sending forth righteous thoughts, which encouraged the practitioners being tried tremendously and shocked the police. During the break, when a family member of a practitioner took a picture of the seven practitioners walking out of the courtroom, the police jumped on her, took her camera and dragged her, along with her five-year-old daughter, 30-40 meters to the police station. Many on-lookers had tears in their eyes when they witnessed the police brutality and the girl crying for her mother, and condemned the actions of the police.

Why are these law-abiding citizens--representatives of the well-educated backbone of the country--put on trial for practicing Falun Gong? This persecution should never have taken place.

The following are some of their statements: "This is a persecution of the kindest people in the world." "Heaven gave me eyes to search for light in the darkness," "I sincerely hope that every one of you will have a bright future."