Court Officials Pressure Falun Gong Practitioners' Families into Dismissing Defense Attorneys

(Minghui.org) A court hearing was held against seven Falun Gong practitioners on May 6, 2014 by Tiexi Court in Anshan City, Liaoning Province. Court officials underhandedly blocked defense attorneys from carrying out their defense. Although the trial ended up being postponed, the court deceived many of the family members into dismissing their defense attorneys.

Heightened Security During the Trial

The courthouse plaza was cordoned off on May 5. On May 6, plainclothes police and uniformed police were everywhere and more than ten police cars were parked near the entrance. In addition, special officers were stationed every 10 meters along the cordon. Only accredited vehicles or persons were permitted to pass through the cordon. Around 8:00 a.m., two police vehicles carrying the seven practitioners stopped at the back of the court.

Defense Attorneys Denied Entry Around 8:10 a.m., nine defense attorneys were denied entry the court by police. The excuse was that a notice from the 610 Office and Anshan Political and Legal Affairs Committee said that any computers or other electronic devices were not allowed on the person. The attorneys questioned the legal basis for the notice and argued that a computer is one of their work tools.

Although the attorneys kept reasoning with the court on this issue until around 11:00 a.m., they did not reach any agreement with the court. In the end, the court decided to postpone the trial. At the same time, officials from Anshan Political and Legal Affairs Committee and 610 Office pressured these practitioners' relatives to dismiss their defense attorneys in exchange for a light sentence. Some of the relatives were deceived by this and terminated their contracts with the attorneys.

These practitioners were arrested at their homes on October 27, 2013. Since then they have been unlawfully imprisoned, although their relatives attempted several times to get them released.

The names of the practitioners are as follows: Ms. Shang Jing, Ms. Guo Sufang, Mr. Zhang Xu, Mr. Tang Chao, Ms. Gao Sujuan, Mr. Yao Yuandong and Mr. Long Gang.

Parties involved in persecuting these seven practitioners:

Anshan Political and Legal Affairs Committee head Liang Bing (梁冰): [phone] (Work), [phone] (Cell) Anshan Police Department head Cui Jing (崔京): [phone] (Work), [phone] (Home), [phone] (Cell) Tiexi District Domestic Security Division head Wang Denke (王登科): [phone] (Work), [phone] (Home), [phone] (Cell) Xinsheng Police Station head Zhang Xiaoyi (张孝义): [phone] (Cell) Political head An Xin (安新): [phone] (Cell)