(Minghui.org) A physician from Luzhou City was tried in a detention center, where she has been illegally detained for the past six months. The trial was held without her lawyer or any family members being present.
Jiangyang District Court officials tried Falun Gong practitioner Dr. Zhao Ronggui (赵荣桂) on October 31 in Naxi Detention Center. Checkpoints were set up early in the morning on the roads leading to the detention center. Dozens of plainclothes officers and officials stood guard at the gate in the pouring rain. They turned away local residents who wanted to attend a trial that was supposed to be open to the public.
Dr. Zhao's lawyer said that he was prevented from entering by local Political and Legal Affairs Committee members.
In order to attend his wife's trial, Dr. Zhao's husband was required by officials to submit their marriage certificate, residence certificate, and ID to the court. The couple had been married for 30 years, but because their home had been searched and ransacked many times, he couldn't find their marriage certificate, and he was barred from the trial.
No relatives, legal representation for the defendant, or interested citizens were allowed into the courtroom, so no objective account of the trial is known and remains to be investigated.
Checkpoints outside the detention center: police and officials are seen turning away observers
Years of Persecution
Dr. Zhao practiced medicine at Luzhou Hydraulic Accessories Factory's health clinic. The factory went out of business in 2000, and both she and her husband lost their jobs. To support the family, Dr. Zhao's husband found a job in another city. But when his wife was arrested, he quit his job to come back and care for their daughter.
Dr. Zhao volunteered at a local Falun Gong practice site before the persecution began. She was detained in July 1999 and for a week was bombarded with propaganda that defamed Falun Gong. She was under intense pressure to publicly denounce Falun Gong.
In the summer of 2001, she was taken to the Xicao Brainwashing Center, along with over a dozen other Falun Gong practitioners. When they all refused to cooperate with the brainwashing, the local 610 Office decided to separate the group of steadfast practitioners, of which Dr. Zhao was one. She was transferred back and forth between different detention centers for nine months before she was released.
When Dr. Zhao was not in detention, she worked odd jobs for long hours to support her family. She once found a position at a private health clinic, but the local 610 Office pressured the owner to fire her.
Last year, Dr. Zhao's husband needed to be treated for a serious illness and the family has not been able to pay off the debt from the medical bills. The family is in financial straits.
This latest arrest occurred from her home on April 22. Since her arrest, her husband has done everything possible to try to rescue her.
