(Minghui.org) A schoolteacher in Li County, Hebei Province, had her third court hearing on July 6, 2020, for her faith in Falun Gong. Her husband and daughters were intimidated and harassed by the authorities for filing complaints against the police and prosecutor for framing her.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zhu Surong was arrested on October 11, 2019. She first appeared in the Gaoyang Court on May 12, 2020. Her lawyer pointed out that there were more Falun Gong materials mentioned in the indictment than the amount indicated on the confiscation list.
Li Wenzhou, a local Party secretary in charge of Ms. Zhu's neighborhood, testified against her and claimed that he heard from several people saying she had distributed Falun Gong materials at local markets. But when Ms. Zhu’s lawyer asked who told him that, Li responded that it had been a long time and he couldn’t remember.
During Ms. Zhu’s second hearing on June 19, the police changed the number of confiscated items to be the same as that in the indictment, citing a typo in the original document. Her lawyer pointed out that it’s illegal for the police to arbitrarily change numbers of confiscated items on their own, without third-party verification.
Ms. Zhu’s daughter, who was also defending her in court, added that no matter how many Falun Gong materials her mother had at home, it couldn’t support the allegation that she violated any law or undermined the enforcement of any law, which is the typical pretext used by the Chinese authorities to sentence Falun Gong practitioners.
Prior to Ms. Zhu’s third court session on July 6, her lawyer asked to have Bian Jihui, the police officer who was involved in her arrest, to appear in court to be cross-examined. Bian never showed up.
Family Targeted for Seeking Justice
Because Ms. Zhu’s family filed complaints against police officer Bian Jihui and prosecutor Hou Zhiyong for unlawfully arresting and framing her, the authorities retaliated.
On June 23, four days after Ms. Zhu’s second hearing, the police broke into her home and searched it. Because Ms. Zhu’s younger daughter was at home alone, the police left her with a notice, ordering her father to report to the police station. They threatened to put him on the "Wanted List" if he didn’t show up after three such notices.
On July 1, Ms. Zhu’s older daughter, a kindergarten teacher, received a call from her supervisor, saying that the police had pressured them to fire her. That same day, the police arrested Ms. Zhu’s husband. They collected his fingerprints and a blood sample at the police station against his will. They first gave him 11 days of detention but released him later that day after he admitted that he’d put up posters about officer Bian. He was also fined 600 yuan.
The police threatened Ms. Zhu’s husband again after her third hearing, which was conducted through teleconference.
Related reports:
Elementary School Teacher Tried for Her Faith
Elementary School Teacher Still Detained for Her Faith During Chinese New Year
Related article in Chinese
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