(Minghui.org) Mr. Zhang Jun and Mr. Ming Shaolin were sentenced to four-year prison terms on October 8, 2014, by a Jialing District Court judge in Nanchong City. Authorities tried to intimidate the practitioners' defense lawyer before the trial started, by trying to subject him to security screening. The lawyer pointed out the illegality of this action and refused.
Mr. Zhang Jun asked his father, Mr. Zhang Piming, to help defend him at the trial, but the judge refused to allow it, claiming that their father-son relationship couldn't be proven.
The judge interrupted the defense lawyer many times during the trial, and tried to stop him from defending the two practitioners. In the end, the lawyer was told to present his defense in five minutes. The lawyer told the judge that it wasn't enough time. In response, the judge said that he now only had four minutes. The trial started at 9:00 a.m. and ended at around 6:00 p.m. The procurator had the floor for the vast majority of the time.
When the defense lawyer pointed out that the evidence presented in court by the prosecutor didn't match the list of evidence submitted prior to the trial, the judge cut him off and claimed that such a discrepancy would not impact the verdict and sentencing.
After both sides gave their summations, the judge immediately pronounced the practitioners guilty, and sentenced each to four years.
