(Minghui.org) A Jixi City judge threatened a local man before his trial, “If you refuse to plead guilty, we'll sentence you to up to 10 years!”

Mr. Li Yongsheng was tried without legal representation in the Muling City Detention Center on October 29, 2015, and later given six years in prison for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.

The 44-year-old man's family hired a lawyer to defend him following his arrest seven months earlier, but the Muling City Court repeatedly declined the lawyer's request to establish formal legal representation of his client.

Judge Wang Lianrun, who threatened Mr. Li before the hearing, refused to talk to the lawyer when he went to the courthouse on December 9 to complain about the violation of his right to represent his client and the subsequent sentencing of Mr. Li.

Mr. Li Yongsheng

Mr. Li appealed, only to be turned down by Mudanjiang City Intermediate Court. He complained about back and liver pain when his family visited him on February 22 this year, two days before he was transferred to Mudanjiang Prison.

Once handicapped, Mr. Li returned to health after he began the practice of Falun Gong, but he has developed illness symptoms since his arrest. His family worries what lies ahead when he is imprisoned.

Related Reports:Lawyers Sue Authorities for Illegally Detaining Their ClientsTwo Falun Gong Practitioners Unlawfully DetainedProsecutor Hides Own Identity to Prevent Lawyers from Reviewing Falun Gong Case Files