(Minghui.org) In a rare case, Yinan Court and Yinan Procuratorate in Shandong Province returned the case of four Falun Gong practitioners to Yinan Police Department for insufficient evidence, following a court hearing two months ago.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. It has been severely persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999 for its immense popularity and revival of traditional values.
Although China's court and procuratorate system have long become the communist regime's rubber stamp in its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, some judges and prosecutors have shown resistance to continuing to carry out the persecution policy in recent years.
Despite the return of their case, the four practitioners are still held in custody by the police, who are working actively to fabricate additional evidence with which to charge them.
Mr. Liu Naixun and his wife Ms. Wang Xilan, both in their 70s; Mr. Zu Peiyong, 52; and Ms. Li Changfang, 55, were arrested in August and October 2018 after being suspected of helping Ms. Xing Ximei's family to file a lawsuit against Yinan County Police Department. Ms. Xing, also a Falun Gong practitioner, died 13 days following her arrest on November 7, 2017 for not renouncing her faith.
According to an insider, the Linyi City 610 Office, an extralegal agency created specifically to persecute Falun Gong, ordered the practitioners’ arrests. The police followed and monitored the practitioners for days before arresting them.
The arrests of the four practitioners happened during the Chinese regime's campaign to crack down on gang members. Instead of targeting gang members, who usually had connections with the police, the authorities targeted Falun Gong practitioners to fill their quota.
After the police submitted the practitioners' case to Yinan Procuratorate, the prosecutor soon forwarded them to Yinan Court after being pressured by the 610 Office and the Political and Legal Affairs Committee.
Yinan Court held a hearing of the four practitioners in a makeshift courtroom at Hedong District Detention Center on January 24, 2019, only one week before the Chinese New Year.
Despite pressure from the 610 Office, two lawyers entered a not-guilty plea for the practitioners, while the other two lawyers appointed by the court and the 610 Office entered a guilty plea.
The lawyers argued that no law in China states that practicing Falun Gong is illegal and that it was within their clients' constitutional right to practice Falun Gong. They further argued that the practitioners did not harm any individuals or society, let alone obstruct law enforcement as charged.
The practitioners also testified in their own defense that practicing Falun Gong improved their health and enabled them to improve their character. They denied all allegations against them.
The presiding judge adjourned the hearing without issuing a verdict. After discussing with the prosecutor, the judge decided to return the practitioners' case to the police, citing insufficient evidence.
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