(Minghui.org) A software engineer in Dalian City, Liaoning Province was secretly tried for not renouncing his faith in Falun Gong on Monday, May 20, 2019.
Judge Jin Hua made no mention of the upcoming hearing to Mr. Liu Xiaoxiong's family when they visited her on Friday, May 17, which was also the first day that she took over from another judge initially assigned to the case.
Upon finding out the secret hearing, Mr. Liu's family couldn't believe that Jin had kept them in the dark and that she would hold a hearing so soon – on her second day working on the case.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Arrested after Being Deceived by the Police
Mr. Liu, a native of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, grew up poor. Through hard work, he earned a Bachelor's degree and landed a software engineer job in Dalian.
At work, he never complained about the assignments given by his manager. Sometimes he worked extra hours, often into the early morning, in order to finish the projects on time. His managers and colleagues all spoke highly of him.
Mr. Liu suddenly received a call from the police on July 25, 2018 and was asked to go to the local Qixianling Police Station to fill out an application for a temporary residence permit. He took a half day off and went to the police station, only to be arrested on the spot.
It was reported that the police had targeted him after finding him posting information about Falun Gong on a popular Chinese social media platform.
The police ransacked his home twice and confiscated his Falun Gong books and computer.
While Mr. Liu was kept at Dalian Detention Center, his family went to the police station several times to demand his release. They also filed complaints against the police for the arbitrary detention of their loved one, but they never received any response.
After the police submitted Mr. Liu's case to Gaoxinyuan District Procuratorate, the prosecutor twice returned it to the police due to insufficient evidence. His family and lawyer repeatedly urged the prosecutor to dismiss his case, but to no avail.
After the police submitted the case for the third time, the prosecutor indicted Mr. Liu and forwarded his case to Ganjingzi District Court on April 15, 2019.
Sudden Change of Judge
Mr. Liu's case was first assigned to judge Gao Yang. His family contacted judge Gao and applied to be his non-lawyer defenders during his court hearing. Judge Gao kept saying no to the meeting request and said she would inform them of the hearing when the date drew near.
In mid-May, Mr. Liu's family called judge Gao again and told her that they were coming on May 17 to submit the documents for court defense. Judge Gao said they would have to submit documents demonstrating they don't practice Falun Gong themselves before their defense application could be approved.
On their way to the court on May 17 to submit the paperwork to represent their loved one, Mr. Liu's family received a surprise call from judge Jin Hua, who told them that she had just taken over from judge Gao.
When meeting with Mr. Liu's family, judge Jin demanded that they provide a letter issued by their local police to demonstrate that they didn't have any criminal record or proof that they didn't practice Falun Gong themselves, although none of these requests were legitimate.
In addition to preparing to defend Mr. Liu themselves, his family also hired a lawyer to represent him. When they told judge Jin that the lawyer would come from Beijing on Monday (May 20) to submit his representation documents, judge Jin appeared to be very surprised. She also demanded that the lawyer file the same documents with his local Bureau of Justice.
Secret Hearing
When the lawyer went to Dalian City Detention Center to visit Mr. Liu on Monday, he was surprised to learn that his client had already been taken to the court for a hearing.
The lawyer and Mr. Liu's family took a taxi and rushed to the court. They called judge Jin on their way, but no one answered the phone. They called other judges and were told that judge Jin was in a hearing in the morning and that she would go out of town for a business trip in the afternoon.
It was already 11:20 a.m. when the lawyer and Mr. Liu's family arrived at the court. The hearing was already done, so they immediately found the president of the court, Lu Mingli, to complain about judge Jin for holding the secret hearing of Mr. Liu without ever informing them.
After Lu realized that this case was about Falun Gong, he also asked the lawyer to submit documentation to the local Bureau of Justice before he could represent Mr. Liu. Lu didn't allow the lawyer to review Mr. Liu's case document, nor did he accept the lawyer's application to represent his client.
The lawyer and Mr. Liu's family returned to the court after lunch break. They talked to Lu on the phone and were also told that judge Jin would be on a business trip for one week with limited access to her cellphone. Lu said they could only talk to her after she comes back.
The lawyer met with Mr. Liu at the detention center later in the afternoon. Mr. Liu told the lawyer that he was also shocked by the secret hearing. By law, the court should inform defendants three days before scheduled hearings.
Mr. Liu said judge Jin rushed through the hearing and asked the prosecutor if the sentencing for Falun Gong practitioners “was still three years.” “That's up to you.” the prosecutor answered.
Related reports:
Twice-Returned Case Against Falun Gong Practitioner Submitted to Prosecutor for Third Time
Procuratorate Returns Case Against Dalian Engineer Under Pressure from His Supporters
Dalian Software Engineer Arrested after Being Deceived by Police
