(Minghui.org) The presiding judge in the trial of a Falun Gong practitioner tried to negotiate a plea bargain with the defense lawyer, but the latter refused because no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong.
Ms. Wang Changjin, a resident of Changsha City, was arrested on December 7, 2015, for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
Her lawyer, Mr. Guo Haiyue, defended her constitutional right to freedom of belief during her first hearing on August 9, 2016. He emphasized that the persecution of Falun Gong has lacked legal basis from the onset and that his client should never have been prosecuted for her faith in the first place.
He also argued that the prosecution evidence, which included items confiscated from Ms. Wang’s home, should not stand since those items were Ms. Wang’s lawful possessions and caused no harm to anyone or society at large.
Ms. Wang, who was released on bail weeks after her arrest because of her high blood pressure, received a court notice on October 9, 2016, saying that her next hearing had been postponed, as the procuratorate needed more time to investigate her case.
Mr. Gao suspected that this was a delaying tactic on the part of the court. Having represented other Falun Gong practitioners in the past, he knew that sometimes China’s courts issue a guilty verdict against practitioners while their cases seemed to be dormant.
Judge Pan Hao called Mr. Gao on November 4, telling him to relay a message to Ms. Wang. Pan said Ms. Wang either had to admit her guilt or be taken back into custody and face a prison sentence. She promised to offer Ms. Wang a suspended sentence if she confessed to her alleged crime of practicing Falun Gong.
Mr. Gao firmly rejected Pan’s deal, as he was hired to defend Ms. Wang’s innocence.
He hasn’t heard anything from the court since.
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