(Minghui.org) Three Fengcheng City, Liaoning Province residents stood trial on October 23, 2020 for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Ju Shimiao, a 45-year-old financial management professional, was arrested together with Ms. Sun Zhongqin, 68, and Ms. Tong Xiuhong on December 8, 2019, for talking to people about Falun Gong. The police beat Mr. Ju and broke his glasses.
The Zhen’an District Procuratorate approved the practitioners’ arrests on January 15, 2020 and indicted them on June 28. Ms. Sun and Mr. Ju’s families hired lawyers to represent them.
On September 4, Mr. Ju’s lawyer submitted a letter to the Zhen’an District Court, requesting the charges against him be dismissed. The judge never responded.
The three practitioners appeared in Zhen’an District Court on October 23. They were all handcuffed and heavily shackled, which caused them much difficulty in walking. The judge refused to remove the shackles and handcuffs, despite the request from their lawyers.
The court initially didn’t allow the practitioners’ families to attend the hearing, but relented at the lawyers’ strong requests and allowed two family members of each practitioner to enter the courtroom.
Ms. Sun and Mr. Ju’s lawyers entered a not guilty plea for their clients. They argued that it’s the practitioners’ freedom of belief to practice their faith and they didn’t violate any law in spreading informational materials about Falun Gong.
“What’s wrong with ‘Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance’ [the three tenets of Falun Gong]? Why not show your evidence [the confiscated Falun Gong materials] in court and let us all take a look and see if they contained any materials that broke the law?” the lawyers questioned the prosecutor, who didn’t respond.
Mr. Ju said, “Falun Gong is very precious to me, even more so than my own life. Those materials are also very precious and I cherish them a lot. I shouldn’t have been charged for upholding my faith or having those materials.”
The hearing lasted from morning until 7 p.m. Mr. Ju was transferred to the Kuandian Detention in the evening, while Ms. Sun and Ms. Tong were sent back to Dandong Detention Center, where they have been held since their arrests.
Related reports:
Nine Liaoning Residents Detained for Their Faith During Chinese New Year
Three Liaoning Residents Face Trial for Their Faith, Lawyer Urges Judge to Drop Case
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