(Minghui.org) The case against Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Wu Haiming had twice been returned by the Procuratorate due to insufficient evidence. Two days before Mr. Wu was due to be released, the Party secretary stepped in and insisted that he be brought to trial.
During the three-hour proceedings on September 20, 2016, the judge interrupted the lawyer’s defense repeatedly and called a recess three times. No verdict was announced.
Mr. Wu Haiming, who had been reported to the police for applying for a U.S. Visa, was arrested by Feixiang County Party secretary Yin Lijun and the police on June 3, 2015. After his case was twice rejected by the Procuratorate for lack of evidence and Mr. Wu had been held in a detention center for more than a year, the police intended to release him.
That was when Party secretary Yin Lijun stepped in and pressured the Procuratorate to indict Mr. Wu.
A trial in the Feixiang County Court was originally scheduled for September 8, 2016, but it was canceled two days before and reset for September 20. The cancellation appeared to be related to a classified document issued by the General Office of the Communist Party on how to “handle” Falun Gong cases. It was said that the court was waiting for specific directives from higher-ups with regard to Mr. Wu's case.
According to local Falun Gong practitioners' families and lawyers, the presiding judge in the case, Liu Yanfeng, was an active participant in the persecution of Falun Gong. Liu had already sentenced several practitioners, refused to accept attorneys' representation documents, pressured the practitioners' families to dismiss their lawyers, prevented lawyers from meeting with their practitioner clients, lied about trial dates, and secretly sentenced practitioners.
During Mr. Wu’s trial on September 20, judge Liu again interfered with a lawyer's defense. The lawyer's argument turned into a tense exchange with the judge.
When the lawyer argued that the evidence listed by the prosecutor didn’t have any connection with the charges, the judge shouted, “Stop! Stop!”
The lawyer continued to list the blatant violations of legal procedure carried out by county Party secretary Yin Lijun and other government officials who, he revealed, exerted pressure on the Procuratorate and the court to sentence his client.
“Stop! You are not allowed to get government officials involved!” yelled the judge as he pounded his gavel.
“Why am I not allowed to get the officials involved? Are they outside the law?”
Flustered, the judge called a recess for 13 minutes.
After the trial resumed, the lawyer explained that Mr. Wu had every right to possess a collection of Falun Gong books to study.
“Don't talk about this! You are not allowed to talk about this!” the judge yelled.
“No law has ever criminalized Falun Gong. No police or civil officials have the right to meddle with someone's spiritual belief.”
“Shut up! Shut up!” shouted the judge as he continued to pound his gavel.
“If I am not allowed to refer to the law, then, you tell me, on what basis are you sentencing my client?”
At a loss for words, the judge called another recess.
When the trial resumed, the judge didn't let Mr. Wu’s lawyer speak again.
At the end of the trial, judge Liu asked the lawyer to sign a piece of blank paper, saying that he would attach it to the lawyer's defense transcripts.
“I don’t trust you. I won't sign it,” was the lawyer’s response.
Of particular note is what Mr. Wu’s attorney said during the trial about how he was challenged for representing his Falun Gong client. “After I decided to represent a Falun Gong practitioner and defend his innocence, I was asked the same questions over and over again. ‘Do you practice Falun Gong? Do you have family members that practice Falun Gong? Falun Gong cases are highly politically sensitive. Are you aware of the risk?’
“I answered, ‘I don't practice Falun Gong. No one in my family practices Falun Gong. I am fully aware of the risk of representing a Falun Gong practitioner. What I'm defending here is justice, the right of every citizen to be protected. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. In other words, today, while I may be defending a Falun Gong practitioner, I'm also defending justice and freedom for myself.’”
Early in the morning before the trial took place on September 20, police and plainclothes officers gathered to stand guard around the courthouse. The entrance was cordoned off.
Everyone who attended the trial had to go through several security checks.
Perpetrators' Contact Information:
Liu Yanfeng (柳延峰), presiding judge. Feixiang Court in Hebei Province: +86-18031061889Yin Lijun (殷立君), Feixiang County Party secretary: +86-310-8668999, +86-18103305999Pan Jiqiang (潘纪强), head of Feixiang County Police Department: +86-310-8557801, +86-13903100180Yan Yanmin (闫艳民), head of Feixiang County Domestic Security Division:+86-13315065168Tian Jingbin (田敬宾), director, Feixiang County 610 Office: +86-310-8555876, +86-13932004899