(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhou Lina, in her 40s, from Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, stood trial on February 18, 2025 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Judge Xie Lihua from the Linghai City Court presided over Ms. Zhou’s trial. Judges Tian Fang and Zhang Meng, as well as prosecutor Li Feng and assistant prosecutor Tan Yuwei from the Linghai City Procuratorate were also present. Linghai is under the administration of Jinzhou, and the Linghai City Procuratorate and the Linghai City Court have been designated to handle Falun Gong cases in the greater Jinzhou area.
The hearing adjourned after about 50 minutes. Ms. Zhou is now awaiting a verdict while being held at a local detention center.
Arrest
Ms. Zhou’s arrest was triggered by the arrest of her roommate, Ms. Meng Chunying, also a Falun Gong practitioner. The Tiehe District Domestic Security Division raided the women’s apartment on April 14, 2024. Ms. Zhou was not in, but her 115,000 yuan in cash and two Certificates of Deposit, of 50,000 yuan and 30,000 yuan, were seized by the police. They also confiscated a large amount of Ms. Meng’s personal belongings and Falun Gong books.
After Ms. Meng’s son told the police that Ms. Zhou and Ms. Meng shared a rental place, the police grouped all confiscated items together and labeled them as “co-owned” by the two women. They then put Ms. Zhou on the wanted list and eventually tracked her down.
Ms. Zhou was arrested on August 21, 2024, while visiting another practitioner Mr. Miao Jianguo to charge her electric bike. The police who were shadowing Ms. Zhou arrested both her and Mr. Miao.
Trial
The Jinzhou City Domestic Security Division, the Tiehe District Domestic Security Division, the Linghai City Procuratorate and the Linghai City Court worked together to prosecute Ms. Zhou, Ms. Meng, and Mr. Miao.
Ms. Meng was sentenced to four and a half years on December 30, 2024. Details of her trial are unclear.
Mr. Miao was tried separately by the Linghai City Court moments after Ms. Zhou’s trial on February 18, 2025. His family did not dare to hire a lawyer to represent him because the police threatened them. The details of his hearing are unclear. He previously spent over a decade behind bars for practicing Falun Gong.
During Ms. Zhou’s trial, the prosecutors only presented a photo of the items they confiscated from her rental place, despite the numerous pieces of “evidence” listed in the indictment. They tried to coerce her into admitting the items were co-owned by her and Ms. Meng. She denied the claim. Her lawyer added that the interrogation record did not have her signature as required by law and should thus be inadmissible.
The prosecutors accused Ms. Zhou of being a “fugitive.” She demanded to know what conditions she met that she was listed as a fugitive. They replied that they didn’t need to answer her question. Her lawyer asked how she could be labeled a fugitive when she never left Jinzhou.
The Jinzhou City Domestic Security Division was listed as the agency that verified the Falun Gong books confiscated from Ms. Zhou’s home were “cult propaganda.” Her lawyer refuted this claim and said that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it a cult; hence the books were her lawful possession. Moreover, only an independent, third-party agency has the authority to verify and authenticate prosecution evidence. As the arresting officers’ supervising agency, the Jinzhou City Domestic Security Division had an apparent conflict of interest in authenticating the prosecution evidence.
The lawyer further pointed out that the 115,000 yuan in cash and two Certificates of Deposit, of 50,000 yuan and 30,000 yuan confiscated from Ms. Zhou’s home were her lawful assets and should be returned to her in a timely manner. The police, however, still have not returned the money, despite repeated requests from Ms. Zhou, her loved ones and her lawyer.
Related Reports:
Liaoning Man Arrested Again One Year After Serving a Prison Term for His Faith
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