(Minghui.org) A woman from Fumeng County, Liaoning Province was tried in late January for “engaging in the cult practice of Falun Gong and using it to undermine law enforcement.” At the hearing, her defense lawyer Mr. Han reminded the prosecutor,
“My client Ms. Zhang Guozhen started practicing Falun Gong in 1998, when the government wholeheartedly embraced the self-cultivation system. From the National Athletic Committee to the State Administration of Press, and from the stated-owned CCTV to various media outlets, there was overwhelming positive coverage on Falun Gong everywhere.”
Mr. Han questioned the prosecutor, “Nothing about the practice has changed since then. Falun Gong practitioners, my client included, are still striving to be good people, and they are still harmless to society. How come the authorities suddenly took an opposite stand and called it a 'cult' in 1999?”
Ms. Zhang concurred that her practice of Falun Gong caused no damage to anyone, let alone undermine law enforcement. The prosecutor did not respond to Ms. Zhang or her lawyer.
The presiding judge Zhang Yi frequently interrupted the lawyer during the trial on January 29, 2015. Mr. Han finally warned him, “Defending my client is my legal right. If you keep interrupting me, I reserve the right to sue you.”
Over 100 Falun Gong practitioners stood in subzero temperature outside of the courthouse to show their support of Ms. Zhang. Only three of her relatives were allowed inside to attend the trial.
Two policemen arrested Ms. Zhang on August 11, 2014 when she was handing out literature about the persecution of Falun Gong by the Communist regime.
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