(Clearwisdom.net) Jiangyang District Court officials in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province secretly sentenced Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Yang Ming to five years in prison on January 8, 2009. He refused to accept the verdict and appealed. The Luzhou City Intermediate Court then commenced a second trial at 10:00 a.m. on April 27, 2009, for his appeal.
1. An Unusual Trial
The second trial involving Mr. Yang on April 27, 2009, was the first one in a decade where the lawyers defended Falun Gong practitioners in Luzhou City since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Gong. Nearly a hundred people, including Yang's family and friends, Falun Gong practitioners, and non-practitioners who were interested in the trial gathered at the court at 8:30 a.m.
The spectators waited in the courtroom for proceedings to begin. Court staff quietly counted the number of spectators, and someone videotaped them. The lawyer noticed and immediately stopped the videotaping. After a while, several black uniformed personnel made everyone, including the lawyers, leave the courtroom. They stated that everyone needed to go through the security checkpoint. A short person in black clothes held an electronic baton in his hands. Later on the uniformed personnel said that all the spectators needed to show their identification cards to be admitted into the courtroom.
Police presence was significant, inside and outside the courtroom. There were even plainclothes officers and 610 Office agents, including Lin Min, Wang Xu, and Tang Deyuan from the 610 Office and the Jiangyang District Police Department deputy head. Community officers were compelled to monitor practitioners from their communities.
Agents from the Luzhou City 610 Office have persecuted many practitioners. That day the practitioners faced their accusers from the 610 Office in court with dignity. One accuser asked, "What are you doing here? Why don't you take care of your own business at home?" The practitioner answered, "This concerns me personally. It is more important than my business."
The people who were forced out of the courtroom gathered outside. Some plainclothes officers started videotaping them. Someone told the lawyers about it. Lawyer Tang Jitian stopped the person from videotaping and warned him, "No more videotaping is allowed. You are violating our rights."
2. The Judge Interrupted the Defendant's Self-defense
The trial began. Mr. Yang Ming stated several reasons for his appeal: (1) I practice Falun Gong. My health improved greatly, and my spirituality improved. I have not violated any state laws or regulations. I am not guilty and should be acquitted. (2) I want it on the record that Officer Li Zhenghui tortured me in an attempt to obtain a confession. He threatened, "We will tell everyone at your daughter's school about your sentence. We will bring your father to the detention center to show him. If we sentence you to several years in prison, you will be unable to take care of your parents when they need you."
Judge Li Xudong said that Mr. Yang's statement was too far off topic and was irrelevant to the case. He interrupted Mr. Yang's testimony and tried to stop him from continuing. The judge deprived Mr. Yang of his right of self-defense.
3. The Judge Interrupted the Lawyers
When Lawyer Liu Wei made positive statements about Falun Gong, Judge Li Xudong immediately interrupted him and shouted, "You are promoting Falun Gong!" When Lawyer Tang Jitian cited facts and evidence, the judge did not let him continue. When the lawyer produced legal evidence of Yang Ming's innocence, the judge did not allow it to be entered into evidence and declared, "Only new evidence is allowed." He used this pretext and rudely interrupted the lawyers over and over again.
The hearing became extremely intense. Judge Li attempted to cover up the truth and became flustered and unreasonable. Lawyer Tang Jitian reminded the judge, "Please, be mindful of the image of a judge."
4. The Lawyers' Impressive Defense
The two lawyers, Mr. Tang Jitian and Mr. Liu Wei, used the law and cited regulations as the basis to plead "not guilty" for Yang Ming. In the face of the judge's shameless attempts at obstruction, the two lawyers tried their best. Mr. Tang said to the judge, "Would you please look at and scrutinize the legal document that defines Falun Gong as a cult and tell me which article says that?"
Lawyer Liu made his point very clearly--sentencing Yang Ming was based on insufficient evidence and was an improper use of the law. A guilty verdict could not be established. He asked the court to return the confiscated personal belongings to Mr. Yang and release him immediately.
Lawyer Liu asked Mr. Yang, "During the interrogation, did the officer tell you that you had violated article 300 of the criminal code, and how you had violated it?" Yang answered, "No." Once lawyer Liu had completed questioning Mr. Yang, he stated clearly to the court that Falun Gong was beneficial to people's physical and mental health. He also said that Yang Ming had greatly benefited from practicing Falun Gong and he had not violated any laws. "Believing in Falun Gong does not make a person guilty of a crime in the eyes of the law. State law has never defined Falun Gong as a cult." It was only a statement made by Jiang Zemin.
Lawyer Liu also analyzed the evidence and stated that there was no clear presentation of facts and insufficient evidence from the first trial. During the investigation, the officers prompted the witnesses and induced them to point to Mr. Yang, which is in violation of the law. Mr. Yang's notebook, books, and computer are all personal belongings.
Lawyer Liu also pointed out that this case, from the beginning of the investigation, had been handled illegally. First of all, Officer Li Zhenghui and Mr. Yang Ming are neighbors (Li's family lives upstairs and Yang's family downstairs in the same apartment building). Due to the problem of water leaking in Li's home upstairs, there have been conflicts between the two families. Designating Officer Li Zhenghui as the investigation officer in this case violates regulations in Chinese Criminal Law.
This was the first "not guilty" plea for Falun Gong practitioners at the Luzhou City Court. However, the judge's unreasonable behaviors prevented the lawyers from presenting more incisive arguments.
5. Voices of Protest from Both Inside and Outside the Courtroom
As mentioned above, the judge prevented the attorneys from defending Mr. Yang fairly. Lawyer Liu was planning to continue to reaffirm the universal principle involved in this case--that practicing Falun Gong is an issue of freedom of belief--but the court interfered. Lawyer Tang was also interrupted the moment he began speaking. He was unable to read his fully prepared, ten-thousand-word statement. To protest Judge Li Xudong's obstruction of justice, the two lawyers angrily left the court. Once the lawyers left, the prosecutor immediately asked the court that "the original sentence be upheld." People inside and outside of the courtroom were stunned, and someone shouted, "This is a terrible miscarriage of justice! Not allowing the defendant and the lawyers to speak--what kind of court is this?
Postscript
Once Mr. Yang had been illegally sentenced during his first trial, local lawyers told the family, "You don't need to hire lawyers for this. The second trial is merely a formality. The judge will not listen to different points of views present by a lawyer. What lawyer would dare to go to court for Falun Gong?"
However, people always hope that justice will be upheld. This time lawyers attempted to defend a Falun Gong practitioner in the Luzhou Court. Many people who heard the news were interested in this case. But when people saw how the judge prevented the defendant and the lawyers from even presenting his case, they were outraged. The intentions of the court and the judge were obvious: They wanted to persecute the innocent.
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