(Minghui.org) Ms. Gao Yuan, a young Falun Gong practitioner, was illegally tried in Luohu District Court in Shenzhen City on September 26, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
Judge Li Shaoping and a few other court staff members were present. The two female prosecutors were young, and looked like recent university graduates. The prosecutor assigned to the case, Ma Xueyan, did not show up. There was also an unidentified person in court, who was likely from the 610 Office, and was there to control what was going on. Ms. Gao's family members and four friends were present in the courtroom. Two defense lawyers pleaded not guilty on Ms. Gao's behalf with plausible reasoning.
Ms. Gao was illegally arrested by police on the evening of June 11, 2014 after she was reported by a security person while she distributed 2014 Shen Yun DVDs. The police took away her Falun Gong informational materials and detained her. They searched and ransacked her home the next day and sent her to the Luohu District Detention Center.
Ms. Gao told the court during the trial about her experiences in practicing Falun Gong since last year. She told the court that she used to suffer from a rare form of an incurable disease, but it disappeared after practicing Falun Gong. She said she wanted to help more people benefit from the practice and so she told others about it and its principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. She told the court that she couldn't understand why the government forbids people to learn how to be good and didn't understand why she was arrested.
The two defense lawyers, Mr. Liu Zhengqing and Mr. Luo Xiaoguang, presented a strong defense that rendered the judge and the prosecutors speechless.
Lawyer Presents a Strong Rebuttal
When the prosecutors charged Ms. Gao with “sabotaging law enforcement” and mentioned the three so-called witnesses and material evidence, Lawyer Liu Zhengqing challenged them with the following strong rebuttal:
1. Falun Gong was not on the list of the seven cult organizations defined by the Office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee or the list of seven cult organizations defined by the Ministry of Public Security, therefore, there are no legal grounds to support the charge. Furthermore, it's against the law to persecute Falun Gong even by the CCP's legal regulations. He said, “Ms. Gao has no intention of sabotaging any law enforcement. As for the so-called victims of the offense, I would like to ask the prosecutors to specify which law or which legal regulation my client sabotaged in their enforcement. If the victims of the offense cannot even specify this, then how was the charge established in the first place?”
2. The so-called evidences given by the “witnesses” named in the indictment were complete lies: Ms. Gao doesn't know any of them and never gave the male witness a DVD. Clearly, the evidence was made up by the “witnesses” instigated by police in order to establish “criminal evidence” against my client. Such evidence is illegal, dishonest and untruthful.
3. Even if Ms. Gao had done what they claimed she did, she did not cause any harm to society. (1) the content of the material is about the belief that my client holds, and it is an ideological issue, which does not constitute any crime; (2) the content of the material cannot bring any harm to society, and there is nothing to be afraid of. Everyone is entitled to his belief, and it's up to the individual to decide whether to believe or not.
4. China also has a law to guarantee freedom of belief. The current Constitution stipulates: “Citizens of the People' Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief”. So, what crime has my client committed as a belief holder? She did not violate anyone's personal rights or property rights. She did not steal nor did she rob anyone, and even less did she harm the public interests. She did not do anything that is harmful to society. Why did you arrest her and put her on trial? It's not a crime to have a belief nor is it a crime to promote one's belief. The court charged her with “using a cult to sabotage law enforcement” in the first trial. How could an ordinary citizen possibly sabotage law enforcement? It's like what people say: If you want to condemn somebody, you can always trump up a charge. You cannot only allow people to promote communism and forbid them to promote gods in their hearts.
5. It is against the Constitution to punish Falun Gong practitioners. Promoting Falun Gong has nothing to do with the charge of “using a cult to sabotage law enforcement”. If you cannot even specify which law enforcement was sabotaged, then what is the legal ground for the charge?
Facts speak louder than words. The fact is that Falun Gong is recognized and protected in over 100 countries around the world. Especially in western countries, the practice is spreading very fast. Falun Gong has won the hearts of tens of millions of people around the world. This fact is enough to prove that Falun Gong is a legal practice and should be protected by the law in China.
Through my contact with Falun Gong, I as a defense lawyer can feel the power of human dignity and faith. Falun Gong practitioners are honest, pure and kind, and I have been touched by their bearings again and again. Their moral quality is far beyond the ordinary masses in society. They are a wonderful group of people who deserve out respect. They must not suffer for doing nothing wrong.
Lawyer Liu also read the testimony of Ms. Gao's father, which reminded the judge and other accomplices that perpetrators such as Zhou Yongkang and Li Dongsheng are already being punished for what they did and proves the principle that good will be rewarded with good and evil met with evil.
When the lawyer asked the prosecutors which law they used as their legal basis to condemn Ms. Gao, they became flustered and exasperated, and were speechless.
The judge then adjourned the trial without passing any verdict. Everyone present learned the facts. Even the chief judge said, “As a person, I feel very sympathetic towards you, but a judgment was already made in this country. There is nothing we can do.”
From this trial we can see that the persecution of Falun Gong is a dirty game, very unpopular among the people and something they dare not talk about openly.
We hope that more and more people with a conscience will stand up and support Ms. Gao and all Falun Gong practitioners who are still illegally detained or imprisoned.
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