(Minghui.org) The cases against eleven Beijing residents for their faith in Falun Gong were returned to the police by the prosecutor for insufficient evidence in late November 2020.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
The Beijing police arrested 13 practitioners—Ms. Xu Na, Mr. Li Zongze, Mr. Li Lixin, Ms. Deng Jing, Mr. Zhang Renfei, Ms. Li Jiaxuan, Ms. Jiao Mengjiao, Ms. Zheng Yanmei, Ms. Zheng Yujie, Ms. Wang Yu, Ms. Fu Wen, Mr. Liu Qiang, and Ms. Meng Qingxia—around July 20, 2020, the 21st anniversary of the beginning of the persecution of Falun Gong. Except for Ms. Wang Yu and Ms. Fu Wen, the other 11 practitioners were later charged and had their cases forwarded to the procuratorate.
Some of those arrested have been persecuted before, but most of them are young practitioners in their 20s, who had recently graduated from prestigious universities in China. Some of them are artists and musicians.
All 13 were taken by officers from their respective local police stations to the police department in the Dongcheng District before being transferred to the Dongcheng District Detention Center. Ms. Deng, in particular, was held in the police department for 37 days before the transfer to the detention center.
Only a few practitioners’ families were informed of the arrests, and the police refused to provide more information when pressed by the families. Most practitioners’ families were kept in the dark concerning their situation, and the police didn’t send out any formal detention notices.
The authorities approved the arrests of 11 practitioners on August 28, 2020, with the charge of “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to frame Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Wang Yu and Ms. Fu Wen were released on bail without being charged.
The practitioners were interrogated, subjected to brainwashing, and ordered to write statements to renounce Falun Gong. Ms. Zheng Yujie was once held in solitary confinement.
In early November 2020, their lawyers learned that their cases had been submitted to the Dongcheng District Procuratorate. The prosecutor didn’t provide copies of their case documents as promised, only allowing the lawyers to take photos and hand-copy sections from the documents at the procuratorate. Most of the prosecution evidence consisted of photos of the practitioners taken in their daily lives. Their cases have now been returned to the Dongcheng District Police Department for insufficient evidence.
Related report:
12 Beijing Residents Arrested Near Anniversary of Persecution of Falun Gong
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