(Minghui.org) Three Falun Gong practitioners from Jingtai were arrested in recent months after filing lawsuits against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin. The lawsuits charge Jiang with launching the persecution of Falun Gong.
One of the practitioners has already been tried. Trials for the other two have been scheduled.
Court Refuses to Allow Family-Hired Lawyer to Represent His Client
Mr. Wang Yichao was arrested on August 27, 2015, and tried without his family's knowledge on December 18. The court declined to accept the lawyer hired by Mr. Wang's family and appointed one for him instead.
Despite the lawyer's repeated protests, the local court refused to grant him access or allow him to be involved in the case. Consequently, Mr. Wang's family has no clue how things are shaping up for him.
Court Orders Family to Hire Own Lawyer
Ms. Wang Lianzhen was arrested on October 14, 2015, and is now facing trial. The court has ordered her family to hire a local lawyer for her.
Tried for Filing Lawsuit Against Jiang Zemin
Mr. Yu Youzhen was arrested on January 26, 2016, along with his wife and two grandsons, who were later released. Mr. Yu is now facing trial and is forbidden from using out-of-town lawyers. The police threatened to arrest his two grandchildren again if Mr. Yu refuses to hire a local lawyer.
Mr. Yu recovered from his health problems after he began practicing Falun Gong in 1995. He no longer needed to spend large sums of money on his medical care and he also improved his relationships with family and neighbors. For refusing to give up his faith, however, he was repeatedly harassed, threatened, and detained.
He was first arrested in early 2000 and held in a local detention center for one month, during which time he suffered a broken rib in a beating.
Six months later he was arrested again for going to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. After being kept in a detention center for one year, he was transferred to the Pingantai Forced Labor Camp for a year.
The local authorities ransacked his home in March 2003, but he managed to escape and avoid arrest.
While Mr. Yu lived away from home, the local police extorted money from his wife, who later joined her husband in Baiyin to do odd jobs.
Mr. Yu filed a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin on May 25, 2015, only to be arrested in January this year.
Related articlehttp://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2016/2/25/甘肃省景泰县三名法轮功学员面临非法判刑-324596.html
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