(Minghui.org) Three women in Yanqing District, Beijing, faced the same judge on January 30, 2017 for distributing materials exposing the Chinese communist regime’s persecution of Falun Gong, a mind-body practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Ms. Chen Zhonglian, Ms. Wang Jinlan, and Ms. Liu Xueping were arrested on September 15, 2017. Ms. Chen was tried on the morning of January 30, while the other two practitioners were tried together in the afternoon.

Only three family members of each practitioner were allowed to attend their trials. The rest of the seats were occupied by agents from the local 610 Office, an extra-legal agency tasked with eradicating Falun Gong and given power to override the judicial system.

Ms. Chen and Ms. Wang hired their own lawyers to defend their innocence. Ms. Liu’s court-appointed lawyer was pressured to enter a guilty plea for her.

Ms. Wang was wheeled into the courtroom. Her lawyer testified against the police and detention center guards who abused her to the point that she became wheelchair-bound.

Judge Wang Jingmin of Yanqing District Court presided over both trials, which were also attended by prosecutor Liu Xueyan and clerk Li Shuang.