(Minghui.org) Two women from Li County were recently tried for their belief in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline currently persecuted in China. After two hearings, each was given a one year term. Both have filed appeals.
The police arrested Ms. Zhang Xiaojian and Ms. Wu Xinhua on July 30, 2017, and after three weeks of detention, the arrest was formalized. The authorities interfered with the lawyers to prevent them from taking the cases.
The two practitioners’ first hearing was held at Gaoyang County Court on November 15. Both practitioners were handcuffed upon entering the court room and during the trial. Only two people from their families were allowed in the courtroom.
The prosecutor interrupted the lawyers’ statements, and the judge refused to stop him. The hearing ended after a prosecutor cursed at the defense lawyers and walked out of the courtroom.
The second hearing was held on December 14, and the actions of the judge and prosecutor were not much different. The prosecutor began the hearing by openly insulting the defense lawyer.
The judge asked the prosecutor not to bring up irrelevant information and to control his temper. The inappropriate conduct continued, as the prosecutor repeatedly slammed his fist on the table and demanded that the defense lawyers be removed from the court room.
The prosecutor then slandered Falun Gong and its founder. When the lawyers asked him to quote laws that support his statements, the prosecutor banged his fist on the table and said that he was not bound by laws.
The defense lawyer pointed out that the prosecution’s evidence was flawed because the two witnesses had the same signature. The prosecutor openly admitted that the evidence was flawed and said, “Even so, it will still lead to a conviction.” He then threatened the practitioners that they would receive heavier sentences for hiring lawyers to plead not guilty for them.
The judge didn’t render a verdict at the trial.
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