(Minghui.org) In a courthouse heavily guarded by uniformed and plainclothes police officers, a couple from Hebei Province were tried for practicing Falun Gong. Their defense lawyers asserted that the couple had committed no crime, as practicing Falun Gong is not illegal under Chinese law.

Jing County Court guarded by marked and unmarked police vehicles

Such trials been commonplace all over China since the Communist regime launched its nationwide persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. To gain public support for its campaign, the Communist Party used its state media monopoly to vilify the spiritual discipline as a “cult.” The regime has since used this line to sentence Falun Gong practitioners to prisons and labor camps, where they are tortured for their beliefs.

Ms. Sun Suying and her husband Mr. Liu Xiwei were tried on November 20, 2014 at Jing County Court in Hebei Province.

Prosecutor Yuan Jinchu argued, “I know Falun Gong is not on the list of the 14 cults defined by the Ministry of Public Security. However, as society progresses, new cults emerge...” and insisted that the couple receive heavy sentences.

Lawyer Wang Quanzhang made references to other cases in which he defended Falun Gong practitioners. He told the judge that in other areas, when the judges were made aware of the Party's use of the judicial system to persecute Falun Gong, they either released the practitioners or gave them a suspended sentence.

Judge Lies about Absent Witness

The presiding judge Liu Junjie presented an affidavit from the prosecution witness Liu Donglin, the Party Secretary of the village where the accused couple lives. The defense lawyers argued that the witness must appear in court for the proceedings to be legal. Judge Liu explained that the witness was in the village at the time and unable to attend.

However, Liu Donglin was seen around the court the whole morning. He was assigned to watch Ms. Sun's family members who were not allowed to attend the trial, as well as other Falun Gong practitioners from the village who might have come to support the couple.

Eight of the couple's family members had applied to attend the trial, but only four were given permission.

Ms. Sun Not Allowed to Finish Statement

Ms. Sun read her statement and talked about the tense relationship she had had with her mother-in-law before she started practicing Falun Gong, and how the practice saved her nearly-collapsed marriage and brought her back from the verge of a mental breakdown.

When the presiding judge interrupted her, a lawyer pointed out that it was against the law for the judge to deny Ms. Sun her right to read her statement.

No Collegiate Panel Present in Court

According to Article 10 of the Organic Law of the People's Courts, courts shall use a system of collegiate panels when trying cases. However, no such panel was present during the trial.

Head of 610 Office Patrols Outside the Court

On the day of the trial, a balding man in his fifties freely walked in and out the courtroom. He was identified as Zheng Jianhua, head of the Jing County 610 Office. When Ms. Sun's daughter exited the courtroom after the trial, Zheng told her, “There's no use for you to hire lawyers. You wasted your money.”

Also present were the deputy head of Jing County Police Department Zhang Qingchang, head of the local Domestic Security Division Zhang Guisheng, and police officer Cao Guang. None were in uniform.

Head of Jing County 610 Office Zheng Jianhua (2nd from left) and plainclothes polie officers

Ten Family Members Arrested

Police broke into Ms. Sun's home in the early hours of May 30, 2014 and arrested her husband, son, daughter, and two young grandsons; the youngest was only eight months old. Ms. Sun's in-laws who live in another village were also arrested and their homes ransacked.

Ms. Sun's son, Liu Bingbing, was tortured by police: an officer wearing leather shoes stomped hard on his foot, digging into his flesh and grinding down. Liu could not walk for many days as a result of the abuse.

Perpetrators' Contact Information:Nie Fengkai (乜凤凯), judge: +86-318-4228990 (Office), +86-13313087898 (Cell), +86-15610810066 (Cell)Yuan Jinchu (袁谨初), prosecutor: +86-318-4226363 (Office), +86-18632889186(Cell)Zheng Jianhua (郑建华), head of Jing County 610 Office: +86-0318-13383383600 (Cell), +86-318-4226835 (Home), +86-318-4224612 (Office)Zhang Qingchang (张庆昌), deputy head of Jing County Police Department: +86-13383686166 (Cell), +86-318-4223231 (Home), +86-318-4318002 (Office)Li Guisheng (李桂生), head of the local Domestic Security Division: +86-13383686369, +86-13323189908, +86-15003181110, +86-318-318-4223190 (Home), new number: +86-15003181150 (Cell), +86-318-4224015 (Office), +86-318-4318028Cao Guang (曹光), deputy head of the local Domestic Security Division: +86-18531805693