(Minghui.org) Defense attorneys for three Falun Gong practitioners were beaten by bailiffs when the attorneys refused to hand over their laptops to the court.
On the morning of November 17, 2017, Huili County Court in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province tried Falun Gong practitioners Hua Wanxia, Cui Deli, and Zhang Huiqiong.
Since the Chinese communist regime started its persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, practitioners in China have been systematically arrested and imprisoned for refusing to renounce their faith.
Judge Qiu Yun ordered the three defense lawyers, Lu Tingge, Xiong Dongmei, and Li Xoongbing, to surrender their laptops and suitcases as they entered the courtroom. Because the lawyers’ laptops contained all their files and documents, turning them in would prevent them from making their defense arguments. When the lawyers refused to hand over their laptops, Judge Qiu adjourned the hearing.
As the lawyers left the courtroom, they discussed filing a legal complaint against the judge. When bailiffs overheard their conversation, they pushed the lawyers. Attorney Lu Tingge began to record the scene, and the bailiffs immediately dragged him into their office and beat him.
Witnessing the unlawful conduct, Xiong and Li called for an ambulance, which took Lu to the hospital. The lawyers protested to the presiding judge Yang Jiyun and judge Qiu, who threatened, “Wait here! We’ll deal with you one by one…”
Xiong and Li were then taken inside the office, where they were searched. Bailiffs confiscated their laptops, cell phones, USB drives, and other devices, including legal documents and other paperwork related to their clients.
The bailiffs notified the three lawyers that afternoon that their laptops and other electronic devices had been taken to the Internet Supervision Department and that the court would decide what to do with their devices depending upon the results of the investigation.
The attorneys were told that the court and the public security department would determine whether or not further measures against them would be necessary based upon the conclusion of the inspection and appraisal.
The Huili County National Security Bureau, local police station, and neighborhood association sent personnel to arrest the three practitioners at their residence on August 24, 2016. Their personal belongings were also illegally confiscated.
The three practitioners were detained without due process. Ms. Cui was bailed out for medical treatment by her daughter one week later. Ms. Zhang and Hua have been held at Huili Detention Center since then.
The Huili County Hospital collaborated with the Huili County Procuratorate to fabricate evidence to frame the practitioners, which they submitted to the Huili Court in May 2017.