(Minghui.org) Fuxin City Intermediate Court placed five Falun Gong practitioners on trial on the morning of March 14, 2014. The practitioners were illegally arrested on November 6, 2013 for talking to people about Falun Gong. They were detained for more than four months before the trial.
The practitioners are Gao Yumin, Yang Xiufen, Wu Guiqin, Jin Xing, and Qi Junrong.
On the day of trial, several police cars filled with officers arrived early, and parked their cars in front of the court. About twelve police officers stood at the front entrance and at least thirty or more were stationed inside the courtroom.
The court did not notify the practitioners’ families before the trial. Their family members received the information from other sources and managed to arrive before the trial began. However, the court only allowed two family members from each practitioner to enter the courtroom. They had to go through a thorough body search with a metal detector.
Ms. Yang Xiufen’s 80-year-old mother came to the trial to see her daughter. She entered the courtroom but was soon taken out. Only one of Ms. Yang's family members observed the court proceedings.
Around 9:00 a.m., the five practitioners were brought into the courtroom with handcuffs and shackles on. Someone saw them outside the courtroom when they arrived and said their heads were covered with black hoods.
Practitioner Mr. Gao Yumin asked to have their handcuffs and shackles taken off. Instead, several marshals dragged him into the courtroom with the handcuffs and shackles on.
Only one practitioner's family hired a defense lawyer, but the lawyer did not make it into the courtroom. It seemed that the lawyer was under great pressure from the authorities.
The only defense lawyer appointed by the court failed to enter a non-guilty plea for the practitioners.
The trial ended without any verdicts being announced. For many Falun Gong cases, the decisions were made by Wang Qiubo, deputy head of the local political and legal committee.
Arrested and Detained
The practitioners were arrested on November 6, 2013 by officers from the Zhanggutai Police Station when they distributed informational materials about Falun Gong and explained the facts to people in various villages of Zhangwu County.
It was cold that day, and the police forcibly removed the clothes and shoes of Ms. Yang Xiufen and the other four practitioners. They were then transferred from the police station to a detention center at 3:00 a.m. the next morning.
The practitioners were detained for more than four months. According to an insider, this arrest was led and arranged by Cui Haifeng, head of Zhangwu County Domestic Security Division.
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