Attendance at the trial is restricted and Mr. Zhang's defense is repeatedly interrupted.

Obstruction of Justice at the Trial of Mr. Zhang Ximing

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhang Ximing was arrested while posting truth-clarification materials in Guijiangli Residential Neighborhood, Hexi District, Tianjin on March 30, 2010. His family hired two attorneys to defend him. The trial was held at 9:00 a.m. on June 10, 2010 at Hexi District Court.

An hour before the trial, both uniformed and plainclothes police were all over the nearby shops, residential neighborhoods, and streets and in the park across the street.

Mr. Zhang's family asked to attend the trial, but they were blocked by the police. Eventually, two of them were allowed to enter the courtroom. Besides Mr. Zhang's wife and father, all the others sitting there were from the 610 Office and the Domestic Security Team.

Wei Changming, the female prosecutor representing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), repeatedly slandered Falun Gong and framed Mr. Zhang Ximing.

Wei asked Mr. Zhang Ximing if he knew what the punishment would be for posting banners saying "Falun Dafa Is Good," "The World Needs Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance," and "Heaven Will Eliminate CCP." Wei told judge Yan Qing that Mr. Zhang had been previously jailed in Qingbowa Forced Labor Camp for three years.

Mr. Zhang's defense attorney immediately pointed out, "During the three years that my client, Mr. Zhang Ximing, was in the forced labor camp, all he received was persecution including physical punishment, intensive labor, and torture."

Wei threatened the attorney, "Be careful of your language. Otherwise, you are going to bear the legal consequences for your words."

The other defense attorney said, "During the past ten years that Falun Gong has been suppressed, have people thought it over? Why do these Falun Gong practitioners firmly hold on to their beliefs, even when they are punished in forced labor camps or prisons? There's something..."

Judge Yan Qing used his gavel to interrupt the defense without cause.

The attorney then said, "In all the items in the current Constitution, there is nothing that says that Falun Gong is a cult. Nor is there any such restriction that people cannot practice Falun Gong. Furthermore, ..." Yan Qing hammered his gavel again to interrupt.

The attorney then continued, "Freedom of belief is a basic right to which every citizen is entitled. A belief is a human thought and a thought does not constitute a crime. For example, ..."

His defense was again interrupted by Yan Qing.

The attorney continued his defense, "The posters that Mr. Zhang Ximing posted didn't hurt anyone or damage any property, so it doesn't constitute a crime. Secondly, ..."

He was interrupted again by Yan Qing hammering his gavel.

During the entire defense, both the judge Yan Qing and the prosecutor Wei Changming interrupted many times for no reason, making it impossible for the attorneys to perform a normal defense.

At the end, Judge Yan announced that the court was adjourned and that the sentence would be pronounced on another day.

The plainclothes police videotaped Mr. Zhang's family when they were in the court, and followed the family after they left the court.