(Clearwisdom.net) On January 30, 2013, Suzhou City Intermediate Court held a trial in the case of Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Lu Limin from Huguan Town, Suzhou City. This is the second trial after Mr. Lu appealed the original verdict. Mr. Lu's family attended and it was the first time they had seen Mr. Lu since his arrest nine months ago.
Mr. Lu pleaded not guilty and the family hired a lawyer to defend him. The lawyer's arguments were very clear and powerful, and the family applauded him. However, head judge Wu Jihua said that applauding was not allowed. Mr. Lu also defended himself and talked about freedom of belief and freedom of speech. The head judge did not ask the lawyer any questions. When the lawyer requested that the court show a legal basis for arresting Mr. Lu, one of the judges said with some hesitation, “Everyone knows that he is Falun Gong.” Then they hastily adjourned the trial.
Soon after the trial, the head judge called Mr. Lu's lawyer and said, “We are going to uphold the original verdict. Although you are allowed to appeal again, this will be the final trial.”
Mr. Lu Limin, 44, lives in Huguan Town, Suzhou City. At around 10 a.m. on April 20, 2012, he was arrested by policeman Hua Haixing and others from the Huguan Town Police Station. His home was ransacked. At the time of the arrest Mr. Lu was working in his shop. The police took away one laptop, two printers, two meditation mats, two USB drives, one SD card, 1000 pieces of card paper, 12 A4 photo paper, 90 A3 photo paper, hundreds of blank CDs, 43 Falun Gong books, and 11 hand-copied Falun Gong books.
When Mr. Lu was arrested, his family was not notified. The family used many means to find him and finally learned that he was put in the Suzhou City First Detention Center. Mr. Lu's wife went to the detention center to bring some winter clothing to him, but the detention center asked her for the detention notice before she could see him. The family went to Huguan Police Station for the notice but the police furiously told them to “go away!” The family waited outside the station all morning, and when it was time for the police to get off work at noon, the police forced them to leave the premises.
The family later found out that Mr. Lu was secretly sentenced to four years in prison. They were very angry. They did not receive any notification and did not even know where the trial was held or who held the trial. Even worse, Mr. Lu did not commit any crime. In the nine months since Mr. Lu was arrested, his wife has had to carry the entire family's workload on her shoulders while managing their shop. She has an ill mother and their child is only in elementary school.
This is the second time Mr. Lu was sentenced. The first time was on October 25, 2005 when he was sentenced to three and a half years by the same court. He and his family had been together for a little over three years, and the same tragedy has happened again.
Suzhou City Intermediate Court responsible persons:
Head judge: Wu Jihua
Sun Ying
Xin Yichun
Prosecutor: Nie Jibo
Suzhou First Detention Center:
Director Zhu Jun; Instructor Shi Zhidong; Deputy Director Gu Qingkang
Huqiu District Domestic Security Division Captain Zhou Wenqiu: 86-13912648728(Cell) 86-512-65319942(Home)
Huqiu District “610 Office” Director Sun Jianping: 86-13222219578(Cell)
