(Minghui.org) The Weidong District Court tried two Falun Gong practitioners on June 25, 2014. The two-hour session concluded without a verdict. Ms. Liu Wenxia and Ms. Yang Hong were arrested in November 2013, and have been detained at Pingdingshan No.1 Detention Center.
Before the trial, local police and 610 Office personnel pressured Ms. Liu's family to dismiss her lawyer, threatening to sentence her to five years if she hired a defense lawyer, versus eighteen months without one.
The lawyer testified in court, “Practicing Falun Gong is a freedom guaranteed by China’s constitution. Using article 300 in the Criminal Law to criminalize Falun Gong is unlawful. My clients did not organize any activity to sabotage the implementation of any law.”
Under China's criminal law, article 300 prohibits “using superstitious sects [cults] to undermine the implementation of the law,” and is commonly adapted by the regime to sentence practitioners of Falun Gong.
Ms. Liu said, “I strive to become a good person by following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. My activities benefit society and my own family. My spiritual belief is not a crime.”
The two practitioners' family members attended the trial. They reported that the majority of other attendees were placed by the authorities.
Before the trial, the 610 Offices of Pingdingshan City and Weidong District, the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, the court, and local police received a large number of phone calls from practitioners inside and outside of China, urging them to stop persecuting Falun Gong.
Presiding Judge Li Xifeng received many of the calls and verbally abused the callers. During the trial, however, his attitude was more subdued.
Outside, two rows of police officers lined the court entrance. More officers could be seen in five police cars parked in front.
Many local Falun Gong practitioners waited outside the court to show their support for the two practitioners on trial. A police van dispatched by the Weidong District 610 Office slowly cruised nearby and recorded videos of the site.
