(Minghui.org) When two Falun Gong practitioners were tried in Dandong on December 23, 2015, the judge and bailiff openly deferred to officials from the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) in carrying out trial proceedings.
Since 1999, those who practice Falun Gong in China have faced arbitrary arrest, detention, imprisonment, and torture for refusing to renounce their faith. The outcomes of these trials are often predetermined by the PLAC and the 610 Office, two organizations responsible for carrying out orders from the Chinese Communist Party's central leadership to eradicate the spiritual discipline.
For the trial of practitioners Mr. Sun Yi and Ms. Yu Guanghua, deputy director Yuan Guang'e of the Dandong PLAC and other Committee members arrived at the Zhenxing Court at around 10 a.m. They told the bailiff that they were there for a meeting. When the defendants' families asked Yuan whether they were here for the trial, Yuan stammered, “I'm not…We are here for… I'm not…”
Court Officers Defer to PLAC
The defendants' families asked the bailiff whether they were allowed to sit in the courtroom during the trial and when they could enter. The bailiff said that the Dandong PLAC decided who could attend the trial, and that what the court decided didn't actually count.
The bailiff was then informed that only two family members of the accused were allowed to attend the trial, despite the many empty seats in the gallery.
When the defendants' lawyers informed Judge Tao Zhanhua that they would plead not guilty, Tao said, “The supervisors [from the PLAC] are inside the courtroom. How dare you speak up for practitioners?”
One lawyer responded, “We, as the defendants' lawyers, have the right to speak up in defense of our clients!”
Anomalous Witnesses
The defense lawyers questioned the identity and gender of a prosecution witness, who appeared twice in the file–once as male and another time as female.
“We can’t disclose such personal information,” said prosecutor Sun Guozhi. “The identification has little to do with this case. Those are petty nuances that should be ignored.”
Money Seized by Police
Defendnat Ms. Yu Guanghua revealed that police officers had threatened to seize all of her money in addition to what they had already confiscated if she pleaded not guilty. She stated, “I demand that you return all of the money you seized and release me immediately.”
Her lawyer also asked that the 40,000 yuan seized from her by police be returned to her family. The prosecutor, however, said that the money had nothing to do with the case.
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