(Minghui.org) The presiding judge in the trial of a Falun Gong practitioner refused to discuss the law when the defense lawyer argued that there was no legal basis to charge his client.

Ms. Qiu Xiaomin, a 63-year-old Shanghai resident, was seized from home on April 28, 2016 for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. Her lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her during the trial on November 29. He emphasized that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that his client should never have been prosecuted for exercising her constitutional right to freedom of belief.

The judge stopped the lawyer and said, “I don’t want to talk about law today!” He sentenced Ms. Qiu to 4 years in prison on December 15. Ms. Qiu has filed an appeal.

Ms. Qiu’s trial was preceded by the law enforcement’s and the judicial system’s violations of legal procedures. The police forwarded her case to the procuratorate on July 25 without informing her family or lawyer as required by law. Her family talked to various departments to inquire about her case, only to be given the runaround. The local procuratorate also used various excuses to prevent Ms. Qiu’s lawyer from reviewing her case file.

Ms. Qiu’s health quickly declined following her arrest. Her Hepatitis B virus tests returned positive results on three measurements, HBsAg, HBeAg, and anti-HBc. She was also diagnosed with iodine deficiency disorders.

The local authorities, however, have refused to grant her medical parole. She is awaiting a ruling on her appeal at the Jing’an Detention Center.

This is not the first time that Ms. Qiu has been targeted for her faith. She had been arrested three times before, in 2000, 2001, and 2008, respectively. She was given two years of forced labor after her second arrest.

Related Report:Shanghai Woman Denied Medical Parole, Facing Indictment for Her Faith