(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Lu Shengli, Ms. Jiang Mengmei, and Ms. Tan Shuhui were tried in the Yanting Court in Sichuan Province on May 17, 2016.
Courthouse officials prevented their relatives from attending the proceedings, and the chief of the domestic security division lied when asked why there was such a large police presence at the hearing.
Many officers gathered outside the courthouse that day, including three vehicles from the Special Duties Unit. There were also regular police, traffic police, community guards, a fire engine, and an ambulance. It seemed as if the authorities were conducting a military maneuver or preparing for an attack.
Domestic security agents distributed tickets to those who were arranged to attend the hearing. Initially, relatives of the practitioners being tried were not given any tickets. After they made strong demands, nine of them did get tickets.
One family member asked the chief of the domestic security division why there was such a large police presence around the courthouse. The chief said, “The court is hearing a case about a serious economic crime today.”
The family member then asked a deputy chief the same question. He replied, “A Falun Gong case is be tried today.”
The hearing didn’t begin until 11:00 a.m. The presiding judge announced an adjournment at 12:20 p.m. after a round of questions and answers. The hearing reconvened at 1:00 p.m., and the public prosecutor spent more than an hour reading the case documents. The defense lawyers pointed out several times that this was illegal, but the judge ignored their objections.
The defense attorneys presented legal reasons to refute the evidence provided by the public prosecutor. The prosecutor didn’t cite any specific law but simply said, “They violated the law.”
The judge announced an adjournment at 5:00 p.m. and said that the results would be announced later.
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