(Minghui.org) A trial court in Shanxi Province sentenced a Falun Gong practitioner to prison again during a recent retrial, after an appeals court overturned its guilty verdict against the practitioner months earlier.
Mr. Liu Guisheng was sentenced to three years by the Huairen County Court in December 2014 for practicing and spreading information about Falun Gong, a spiritual belief system being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
Shuozhou City Intermediate Court overturned the guilty verdict on May 26 of this year, after Mr. Liu's family filed repeated complaints protesting the verdict and faulting the lower court for violating legal procedures.
The lower court, however, issued another guilty verdict on December 10 after a fresh round of legal procedure violations.
Assault of Family and Friend One Week before the Retrial
Mr. Liu's wife and other family members visited the court on December 2 to inquire about the retrial details, as the supposed public hearing still hadn't been announced on the court's website one week before the trial, as required by law.
Judge Ren Tianwen denied that he'd be in charge of the retrial even though a court president confirmed to the family earlier on that Ren was the presiding judge assigned to the case.
As Ren refused to answer the family's questions, a friend of Mr. Liu, who accompanied his family to the court, began to tell everyone in the lobby how she was tortured to the point of becoming mentally disoriented while serving time for refusing to give up her belief in Falun Gong.
When the practitioner tried to stop a bailiff from videotaping her, Li Mengjiang, head of court security, directed seven bailiffs to knock her down and drag her out to the courtyard.
Mr. Liu's brother-in-law tried to record the assault, but bailiffs snatched his cell phone and forcibly took him to an interrogation room.
With her son still in detention and now son-in-law taken into custody, Mr. Liu's elderly mother, who is close to 80, was overwhelmed and passed out in the lobby.
The court called 110 (equivalent to 911) and more than 20 officers, led by Domestic Security Office Head Zhang Xiangdong, soon arrived to guard the scene.
Mother-in-law Threatened with Contempt of Court Order on Retrial Day
Mr. Liu's mother hadn't seen him for one and a half years, so she was anxious to attend the retrial to catch a glimpse of her son. She had her ID ready on the retrial date of December 10, but the police stationed outside the courthouse stopped her without providing a valid reason.
The elderly woman then held tight to the lawyer's clothes and wouldn't let go. The police relented and allowed her inside.
Mr. Liu's mother-in-law, however, didn't fare as well. Li Mengjiang and his subordinates forcibly carried her to a small room, where they stuffed her mouth with a towel when she struggled and yelled for help. They forced her to sign on a blank piece of paper, with Li ordering a court clerk, “Write down that she's in contempt of a court order.”
Li then threatened her, “I'll let you go now, but you must keep your mouth shut; otherwise I'll detain you again.” She was released, but was prohibited from attending the hearing.
Sentenced Again Despite Police Violence and Fabricated Evidence
As soon as the retrial began, Mr. Liu's lawyer, Mr. Chang Boyang, requested recusal of all judges on the panel since the public hearing wasn't made public. Judge Ren Tianwen refused the request and proceeded with the trial.
Mr. Liu testified that he was once put in a choke hold during police interrogation, which traumatized him and caused him to suffer anxiety attacks.
Mr. Chang pointed out some suspicious points during the prosecution process of his client. The interrogation records indicated that his client was arrested while distributing materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, but the police never found anything on Mr. Liu. The records didn't even specify where Mr. Liu was seized.
Despite Mr. Chang's protest of the court's legal procedure violations, Judge Ren sentenced Mr. Liu to prison again.
Related Articles:Mr. Liu Guisheng from Shanxi Province Sentenced to Three YearsUnable to Explain Due Process Violation, Judge Adjourns Illegal TrialAppeals Court Overturns Guilty Verdict after Practitioner's Family Complains of Illegal Procedures
