(Minghui.org) A woman detained for refusing to give up her faith told everyone during her trial, “Falun Dafa is good!”
Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since July 1999.
Ms. Jin Zhimei, a resident of Kunming City, was arrested on July 18, 2017, at a torch festival parade in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture. Three months later, police submitted her case to Chuxiong Procuratorate, which assigned the case to its subordinate Datao County Procuratorate. The lower procuratorate filed an indictment against Ms. Jin and forwarded her case to Datao County Court on January 11, 2018.
Three judges from Datao County Court presided over Ms. Jin's trial on March 22. The hearing was held in a room in the Chuxiong Courthouse.
The prosecutor cited three pieces of evidence against Ms. Jin: 1) She gave parade spectators two DVDs with information about Falun Gong, 2) She had bank notes with Falun Gong messages written on them in her possession, and 3) Her cell phone contained audio and video clips about Falun Gong. He recommended that Ms. Jin be sentenced to up to three years in prison.
Ms. Jin's lawyer entered a “not guilty” plea on her behalf. He argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that it was his client's constitutional right to freedom of belief.
The lawyer asked that the DVDs be played in court so people could see what information they contained. The judges ignored his request.
Officer Jin Sheng was in court as a prosecution witness. He alleged that Ms. Jin actually handed out more DVDs than stated on the indictment, to more than 10 people that day. He, however, failed to present any witness or evidence to back up his allegation.
Ms. Jin testified in her own defense. She emphasized that she became a Falun Gong practitioner almost a decade after the persecution began. She explained why she still took up the practice despite the ongoing persecution. She was experiencing marital trouble and health problems when she came across Falun Gong in 2008. She discovered it was nothing like what was depicted by the state propaganda. She became healthy and happy.
Ms. Jin said that she broke no law by practicing Falun Gong and encouraged everyone to remember that Falun Gong is good.
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