(Minghui.org) Hundreds of thousands practitioners have been unlawfully tried for their steadfast belief in Falun Gong.
Attorneys, defendants and their family members have been assaulted in Chinese courts. Some examples are detailed below.
A 67-year-old woman was punched on the head and knocked unconscious by a court official when she attended her daughter's and two other Falun Gong practitioners trial in Shenhe District Court.
She was protesting the limited number of family members allowed in the court when she was knocked unconscious.
Mr. Yu Shui, brother of defendant Mr. Yu Ming, dared to speak out about the restriction on family members in the court, so presiding judge Huang Gang pinched hard on Mr. Yu Shui's neck and threatened him.
Mr. Yu's son and nephew spoke out in protest of the judge's actions and a group of court bailiffs immediately started beating them. The two men were then dragged out of the court.
During the altercation, an official punched Mr. Yu Ming's mother in the head and knocked her unconscious. The remaining family members tried to revive her. She came around several minutes later.
The bailiffs then turned their attention to the 82-year-old mother of defendant Ms. Li Dongxu. They grabbed her hair and dragged her out of courtroom screaming.
Ms. Li burst into tears and shouted at the judge, “My mother is over 80. Would you treat your own mother like this?”
The practitioners' defense lawyer publicized the matter on Weibo, a Chinese social media network.
A lawyer not involved in the case responded: “The court has violated the law in every step of the trial. Is this a court or a gangster's den?”
The incident took place at the third trial of Mr. Yu Ming, Ms. Li Dongxu and Ms. Gao Jinqun on January 20, 2015.
Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Han Chunlong and Mr. Chen Xinye were tried at the Zhenxing District Court in Liaoning Province on May 28, 2013.
The practitioners' families were not allowed in to the courtroom, but they saw Mr. Han being carried out of a police vehicle and put in a wheelchair. Mr. Han was pale and extremely skinny. He didn't respond or open his eyes when his family members called his name.
The defense lawyer told the court that Mr. Han was in such a poor physical state that he was nearly unconscious during the trial. Mr. Han had difficulty breathing and couldn't talk. However, the judge ruled that Mr. Han was “in contempt of court.”
Mr. Han's parents tried desperately to enter the court, but the bailiffs pushed them to the floor and dragged them out. When they tried to enter the courtroom again a short time later, about 20 staff restrained them. They were detained in another area of the court until the trial ended an hour and a half later.
Mr. Chen's father was also dragged from the courtroom.
15 Falun Gong practitioners were put on trial on September 18, 2002, in the Intermediate Court of Changchun City.
According to a Chinese news report on April 1, 2002, eighteen Falun Gong practitioners were involved with interrupting a cable TV network to broadcast documentaries on the persecution of Falun Gong. However, it is believed that some of those arrested were tortured to death before being tried.
As defendants Mr. Liang Zhenxing, Mr. Liu Chengjun, Mr. Lei Min and the others entered the courtroom they shouted, “Falun Dafa is good,” and “Falun Dafa is a righteous law.” A group of bailiffs restrained them and shocked them with electric batons.
2. Shocked, punch and kicked
Ms. Lu Yaxuan was tried in Jiutai City Court in Changchun. She was handcuffed and tied up with ropes during transportation. When she shouted in protest in the court, she was beaten by a group of bailiffs. One of her teeth was knocked out.
A guard tied a rope around her neck to prevent her from shouting out again. She had no defense lawyer. Whenever she made a sound, the guard shocked her with an electric baton, punched her and kicked her.
A lawyer was roughed up after he defended a Falun Gong practitioner in Dongzhou District Court in Liaoning Province on January 29, 2013.
After the judge announced an adjournment in the trial against Zhao Jiwei, the defense lawyer began packing his papers and laptop into his briefcase.
A man entered the court and told the bailiffs to send everyone out. The lawyer asked, “Do you work in the court?” Five or six bailiffs rushed at the lawyer, grabbing his neck, hair and arms.
They dragged him out of the court, knocking down a row of chairs and a steel roadblock in the process. They then slammed the lawyer into a wall. His suit and shirt were torn during the incident.