(Minghui.org) A second hearing was held for Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Cui Xianling (崔贤岺) in the Wendeng Court in Shandong Province on January 7, 2015. The trial was tightly controlled by the police.
Staff of the 610 Office arrived at the courthouse early in the morning and told all the police officers to follow their instructions.
Someone from the Domestic Security Team then followed Ms. Cui's relatives around until they were allowed to enter the courthouse at 9:00 a.m.
Ms. Cui was brought in the courtroom after judge Zhang Wenjian announced a new prosecutor had been added to the prosecution team.
The judge asked Ms. Cui's lawyer, Mr. Wang, if he would still use the same defense argument--“The perpetrators should never try the victim”-- like in the first trial. When Mr. Wang said he would, the judge said he didn't need to excuse himself from the trial because he had checked with a higher office.
At the first hearing on December 9, 2014, Mr. Wang argued that the Chinese Communist Party had initiated the persecution of Falun Dafa, so a court system under its control wasn't fit to prosecute practitioners. He thus requested the court officials to remove themselves from the trial.
Mr. Wang asked the judge to provide the document with the authority's signature regarding that decision, but the judge could not. The trial was temporarily adjourned and everyone had to wait in the hallway.
When the trial resumed, the judge ignored the attorney's argument. He adjourned the hearing ten minutes later.
Ms. Cui was arrested for distributing informational materials about Falun Dafa on August 2, 2014. She was taken to a police station before being transferred to the Wendeng District Detention Center in Weihai City, Shandong Province, later that evening.
Personnel from the Domestic Security Team ransacked Ms. Cui's home the next day by tricking her husband into opening the door for them. They also confiscated Minghui Weekly magazines, 60 yuan, and other personal items.
