(Minghui.org) Four Falun Gong practitioners in Xingning City, Guangdong Province, made their second appearance in the Meixian District Court on November 12, 2024. Their first hearing was on October 18, 2024. Their lawyers continued to defend their innocence in exercising their constitutional right to freedom of belief. They also testified in their own defense and insisted that they didn’t violate any law in practicing their faith.
Three of the practitioners--Ms. Liao Juanna, Mr. Li Zhuozhong, and his wife Ms. Liao Yuanqun--were arrested on April 19, 2024. The fourth, Mr. Xie Yujun, was arrested six days later. Their cases were submitted to the Xingning City Procuratorate in late July 2024 and reassigned to the Meixian District Procuratorate on August 20.
During their first hearing on October 18, their lawyers testified as to the violations of legal procedures in the prosecution process, including the police raiding the practitioners’ homes without a search warrants, the prosecutor prohibiting the lawyers from making carbon copies or taking pictures of their case files (with the excuse that the case contained “state secrets”), and the judge failing to conduct a pre-trial meeting to decide what evidence to include or exclude from the trial.
Friend’s Request to Represent Mr. Xie Denied
On November 11, the day before the second hearing, a friend of Mr. Xie’s submitted an application to the court to represent him as a non-lawyer defender. Presiding judge Wei Donghua (+86-753-2589586) refused to approve the application, with the excuse that he wasn’t a professional lawyer. Wei also refused to answer the defender's call.
Mr. Xie’s family went to the Meixian District Procuratorate and submitted a defense statement to prosecutors Peng Qiuhong and Luo Huimei. They also filed complaints against the police for raiding their homes. They argued that Falun Gong is freely practiced in other parts of the world and is only persecuted in China. The prosecutors insisted that it was impossible for them to withdraw the case against the practitioners and ordered the family to leave.
Before the second hearing started at 9 a.m. on November 12, Mr. Xie’s friend again asked to represent him, but judge Wei still denied his request, with the excuse that Mr. Xie already had a lawyer, even though, by law, defendants can have multiple defenders (who could be lawyers, family members, or friends).
The Second Hearing
At the beginning of the second hearing, judge Wei threatened the lawyers to "behave," as the court’s supervisors and justice bureau’s directors were watching the live video of the hearing. The lawyers responded by recounting the difficulties they had reviewing the practitioners’ case documents and they urged the higher-ups to uphold the rule of law.
During cross-examination of the evidence, the lawyers argued that the prosecution evidence, including the Falun Gong materials confiscated from their clients’ homes, failed to demonstrate how the practitioners had violated which law or caused what damage to an individual or society at large. While the practitioners were being tried together, they didn’t know each other before their arrests and there was no evidence of them committing any crime together.
The lawyers also pointed out that the police installed surveillance cameras outside of their clients’ homes, without their knowledge, before their arrests. When raiding the homes, the police weren't in uniform and didn't present the proper documents.
The lawyers went on to say that the police didn’t verify the list of confiscated items with the practitioners (even a cushion taken from one of the practitioners’ homes was being used as prosecution evidence), and the timing of the raids was different from what the police put on the case records.
The screenshots of surveillance videos provided by the police to identify the practitioners distributing Falun Gong materials were very blurry, and no algorithm could verify that the persons spotted in the footage were the practitioners on trial. The police didn’t provide any information about who verified the videos, as the document only had a stamp that said “Xingning City Domestic Security Division.”
Additionally, the police illegally checked the practitioners’ bank accounts and froze one of them; some practitioners also had their pensions and salaries suspended, all of which caused their families financial difficulty.
In his final statement, Mr. Li recounted that he used to feel confused about life. Falun Gong taught him the true purpose of life and enabled him to become a good husband, son, and father.
Ms. Liao said that her husband had just passed away and her son was seriously ill. She urged the judge to acquit her, so she could return home to care for her son.
Mr. Li’s younger brother, as his non-lawyer family defender, said that he was proud of the practitioners for practicing Falun Gong and striving to be good people. The persecution over the years had left deep scars on the families, especially their children. He urged the judge to uphold justice and release the practitioners.
Mr. Xie’s daughter said that when she was little, both of her parents were arrested for practicing Falun Gong and she had to stay with her grandmother. She lived in fear every day. She felt helpless after her father was arrested again and she lost his financial support when she was in her senior year in college.
Prosecutors Peng Qiuhong (+86-13823890648) and Luo Huimei both claimed that Mr. Li and Ms. Yuan committed serious crimes and recommended at least seven-year prison sentences. For Mr. Xie and Ms. Liao, the prosecutors suggested sentences between three and seven years.
Judge Wei adjourned the second hearing without announcing a verdict. Judges Zhang Qiaoling (+86-13502523608) and Zhang Wei (+86-13823869381), clerk Zhang Xuehui (+86-753-2589713), and assistant to judges Huang Jiajia were all present at both hearings.
Mr. Xie’s family followed up with the Meixian District Procuratorate on November 25 about the complaint they filed in early November but to no avail.
Related Reports:
Daughter Recounts Family’s Ordeal Due to Father’s Persecution for Upholding His Faith
Xingning City, Guangdong Province: Five Still Detained for Their Faith, Four to Stand Trial
Xingning City, Guangdong Province: Four Locals Face Trial for Practicing Falun Gong
Meizhou City, Guangdong Province: 14 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in Three Days
College Student Detained and Threatened with Expulsion, Her Father Implicated and Still in Detention
Mr. Xie Yujun, Mr. Chen Shenghui, and Ms. Wen Chunru Arrested
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