Police Remove Falun Gong Practitioners' Relatives from Court during Public Trial

(Minghui.org) On August 10, 2012, Tangshan Police Department held a public trial for Falun Gong practitioners Li Wendong, Zhang Guochen and others. On the day of the trial, officers presented an order to remove all relatives of Falun Gong practitioners from the court.

At approximately 10:00 a.m. on August 7, relatives of practitioners Li Wendong and Zhang Guochen received phone notification of their court trial, which was to be held at 8:30 a.m. on August 10. The open trial included defendants Li Wendong, Zhang Guochen, Yue Changcun and Yang Zheng. Another trial for practitioner Gao Zhaochen was scheduled at 10:30 a.m. the same day.

A legal requirement exists for the court to notify the family and lawyer of the plaintiff seven days before the trail, but Haiping Court officials notified the family only three days before the trial -- an obvious violation of the law.

On the morning of August 10, Kaipeng District Zhengzhuangzixiang Police Station, Zhengzhuangzixiang Court area was covered with police officers. Police vehicles were everywhere, video recording passersby and cars.

Police officers cover the street

Unlicensed vehicles of the Domestic Security Division

 
Surveillance video

After the trial information was announced, many relatives and friends of the defendants attended, since these Falun Gong practitioners were highly regarded in their workplaces and neighborhoods. However, the court ordered the police to drive them away with the excuse: “Performance of official duties”.

Officer Gao Huixiang from the Tangshan Police Department, Zhao Chunsheng, Chen Shuji from Domestic Security Division and several plainclothes officers from the Fengnan Domestic Security Division mixed in with the crowd. They monitored practitioners outside the court. Some practitioners were dragged away, others were surveilled when they left, some were interrogated.

A relative of Gao Zhaochen had his car stopped by police, who searched his vehicle. The relative asked the officers to show a search warrant; they did not have one but still searched the car.

At 3:00 p.m., the court adjourned.

Case Report

Prior to 8:00 a.m. on February 25, 2012, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mobilized a large-scale police force which proceeded to arrest over 100 Falun Gong practitioners. Thirty practitioners in Tangshan were arrested at that time; eighteen remain in detention. The five practitioners listed above were victims of that massive arrest.

1. Mr. Li Wendong from Tanggang was arrested at home on February 25. He was beaten during the arrest, and his wife – a non-practitioner was also arrested and later released. Mr. Li protested the illegal arrest, shouting: “Falun Dafa is good!”, but was then tortured by detention center guards. He was handcuffed, shackled and his mouth sealed with tape. Mr. Li began a hunger strike in protest. Guards then tied him to a bed where he was force-fed every three days.

On May 7, his lawyer visited him for the first time in the detention center, where he learned about his persecution. Mr. Li's wife was quite worried about his condition, and wanted to see him as soon as possible. Detention center officials informed her that she was required to present certain documentation from the case handling unit for verification, and would then be allowed to see her husband. In order to obtain the documentation required, she went to several government facilities, including the Wali Police Station in Kaiping District, Kaiping Domestic Security Division (case handling unit), Kaiping Procuratorate, Kaiping Political Judiciary Committee, Kaiping 610 Office, Tangshan Police Department, Tanggang (where Mr. Li works), and seven to eight other police department subdivisions. At every location, her request was refused with various excuses. Particularly, at the case handling unit of the Kaiping Domestic Security Division, staff member Chen Shuji clearly told her: “Go away, I will not talk to you.” Team leader Zhao Chunsheng then pushed Mr. Li's wife out the door.

2. Mr. Zhang Guochen, 44 years old, lives in Jinggezhuang, Kailuan, Kaiping District, Tangshan. He was arrested in Tangshan on February 25, and held in the Tangshan No. 1 Detention Center. His mother, in her seventies and in poor health, fell ill and bedridden as soon as she heard the news about her son. His wife suffers from hypertension, which worsened when she heard the news. His son required medical treatment after he learned of his father's arrest. He was unable to return to school for days due to high fever.

3. Mr. Yang Zheng, 36 years old, is from Fuzhuang Village, Daodi Town, Fengnan District, Tangshan. He began practicing Falun Gong in August, 1994.

On February 25, 2012, Kaiping police called Mr. Yang Zheng and deceived him into coming to the city for some job. He was arrested upon arrival. Later, four officers from the Kaiping Criminal Police Subdivision along with three officers from Daodi Police Station raided his home. They confiscated his desktop computer, two portable computers and other personal items. He was previously arrested by Daodi Police Station officers in 2008, and sentenced to a forced labor camp for two years.

4. Mr. Yue Changcun is employed at the Jinggezhuang Mine in Kaiping. He was arrested on February 25, 2012.

5. Mr. Gao Zhaochen, 52 years old, from Dadaizhuang Village, Liyuan Town, Kaiping, was arrested on February 25 by dozens of officers from Liyuan Police Station, who raided his home.

Mr. Gao's work includes interior decoration and remodeling; he possesses a great reputation for his performance. Over the last 12 years, clients have never asked him to redo work. He was awarded the title: “Renovation Worker with Integrity”. Mr. Gao acknowledges that his achievements were due to practicing Falun Gong. He is highly regarded by family and friends.

At approximately 6:00 a.m. on February 25, Kaiping Criminal Police team leader Zhang Zhi lead a dozen officers from Liyuan Police Station and Malu Police Station to surround Mr. Gao's home. One officer attempted to trick him into opening his door: “My car bumped into yours.” Mr. Gao replied: “So be it, you may go.” However, he insisted: “My car hit yours, you can call 110, or come down to settle the case.” Mr. Gao ignored him. Since he was not deceived, several officers began kicking his door. Neighbors were awakened by the terrifying noise. The officers shouted: “You are surrounded, if you don't open the door, we've called the fire department -- and we'll come through a window.” Meanwhile, they cut the electrical and communications lines to his residence.

One hour later, a dozen officers broke into his home without a search warrant. They then confiscated his van, television, printer, cellphone, personal ID, watch and other personal items. The watch was returned later, but his home was left in total disarray. Officers even raided his old residence, which was unoccupied.

Perpetrators:
Liu Xiaozhang, assistant director, Tangshan Police Department, and Vice Party Secretary: [phone]
Sun Xiaozhong, team leader, Tangshan Domestic Security Division: [phone] (Cell), [phone]
Ma Zhendi, assistant team leader, Domestic Security Division: [phone] (Cell)

Domestic Security Division No. 6 Team is responsible for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.

Gao Huixiang

Gao Huixiang, No. 6 team leader, Domestic Security Division: [phone] (Cell)
Zhang Zexing, assistant team leader, Domestic Security Division: [phone] (Cell)
Tangshan Kaiping Subdivision: [phone], Main line; [phone], [phone]
Chen Yongwen, assistant director, Kaiping Police Department – responsible for continuous persecution of practitioners
Zhao Chunsheng, team leader, Kaiping Domestic Security Subdivision: [phone] (Cell)