(Minghui.org) Seven Chaoyang City residents were sentenced to prison for resisting the communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. They are fighting to get their sentences overturned.
During the appeal hearing on June 28, 2016, their lawyers emphasized that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong, that the persecution has been illegal from the outset, and that their clients should never have been prosecuted for exercising their rights to freedom of belief.
The practitioners and lawyers also protested the procedural violations by the arresting officers and the trial court. They demanded that the higher court overturn the trial court’s ruling.
The seven practitioners were charged with “using a cult to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime to frame Falun Gong practitioners.
During the initial trial, the lawyers challenged the prosecutor to specify which “cult organization” their clients had joined. The prosecutor was unable to provide viable evidence. The lawyers reiterated that their clients had every right to practice Falun Gong.
The prosecution evidence included Falun Gong materials confiscated from the practitioners’ homes and their criminal complaints against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin for initiating the persecution of Falun Gong.
The lawyers pointed out that the confiscated Falun Gong materials were their clients’ lawful possessions, which caused no harm to any person or society at large, let alone undermine law enforcement. They added that their clients had every right to seek justice against Jiang for breaking the law and infringing upon their rights to freedom of belief.
In addition, the expert report of “evidence” provided at the trial by the procurator was not signed by two people, as required by Chinese law.
The only “evidence” consisted of blurry photos. When the lawyer asked the judge to provide the real items, the judge refused.
The procurator showed an administrative punishment document at the trial for one practitioner who was “punished” before for practicing Falun Gong. This was to prove that the practitioner had a “bad record.” However, the date and details were not from this practitioner.
The trial judge also demanded that the practitioners admit guilt and claimed that if they did so, they could be released or their sentences could be reduced. By law, only the procuratorate can recommend a plea bargain.
The lawyers also presented legal violations by police.
Officers did not show any identification when they arrested the practitioners. The police later broke in to the practitioners' homes and ransacked them without a search warrant.
The practitioners' signatures were not on the list of confiscated items, and some of the “evidence” provided by the Procuratorate did not belong to any of the practitioners.
Below are the practitioners' names and the prison terms that they have been given:
Ms. Liu Shuhua, 5 yearsMs. Wang Yuhua, 5 yearsMs. Lin Jiangmei, 7 yearsMs. Ren Man, 1 year
The length of sentences for the remaining three practitioners' is unknown.
In 1999, Jiang Zemin, as head of the Chinese Communist Party, overrode other Politburo standing committee members and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong.
The persecution has led to the deaths of many Falun Gong practitioners during the past 16 years. More have been tortured for their belief and even killed for their organs. Jiang Zemin is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of the brutal persecution.
Under his personal direction, the Chinese Communist Party established an extralegal security organ, the “610 Office,” on June 10, 1999. The organization overrides police forces and the judicial system in carrying out Jiang's directive regarding Falun Gong: to ruin their reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.
Chinese law allows for citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are now exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.
Cao Xuechang (曹学昌), chief judge at Chaoyang City Intermediate Court: +86-421-3886122, +86-18642196122 (Cell)
Fu Yudong (付玉东), judicial officer at Chaoyang City Intermediate Court: +86-421- 3886064, +86-18642196064 (Cell)
Hua Zhengtong (华政通), assist judicial officer at Chaoyang City Intermediate Court: +86-421-3886357, +86-18642196357 (Cell)