(Minghui.org) When a Tianjin woman was tried on July 23, her lawyer pleaded not guilty on her behalf and defended her right to practice Falun Gong, a self-cultivation system being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party.

Before the second trial in early August, the lawyer received a phone call from Tanggu Court, threatening him to drop the not-guilty plea for his client. He was not deterred and still defended Ms. Wang Shuqin (王淑琴)'s innocence. The judge refused to listen to his argument and ended the hearing after less than ten minutes.

Two weeks later the lawyer received a surprise court notice, indicating that Ms. Wang's family had decided to terminate his legal services. When he checked with the family, they told him that the court promised to give Ms. Wang probation if she dropped her lawyer and pleaded guilty.

The lawyer informed the family that what the prosecution was doing was illegal. The prosecution did not have a case and would likely lose if the family chose to go to court with a defense lawyer.

If the prosecution did not give Ms. Wang probation as promised, the lawyer said that he would continue to counsel the family if they needed his assistance.

As of this report, Ms. Wang is still in the First Detention Center in the Binhai New District.

Ms. Wang, in her 60s, lived in Tanggu, Tianjin. She used to have heart problems, hypertension, and asthma. She was bedridden and could not take care of herself.

After she became a Falun Gong practitioner, her ailments disappeared. Ms. Wang was able to do household chores and care for her parents and grandson.

Ms. Wang was arrested on April 16 this year outside her apartment building. Her ailments recurred after she was prohibited from doing the Falun Gong exercises while in detention. She could not even stand through her first trial and fainted in the courtroom.

The First Detention Center in Binhai New DistrictTelephone: +086-22-65300763