Liaoning Man Sentenced to 3 Years, Defender Files Complaint Against Appeals Judge for Refusing to Hold Open Hearing

(Minghui.org) A 65-year-old Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, resident was sentenced to three years on March 31, 2025, for practicing Falun Gong and his non-lawyer defender recently filed a complaint against the appeals judge for refusing to hold an open hearing.

Mr. Jin Xiaofeng

Mr. Jin Xiaofeng was arrested on July 13, 2024, and convicted by the Dadong District Court on March 31, 2025. His appeals case was registered with the Shenyang City Intermediate Court on April 21, 2025, with judge Jiang Hui in charge.

Mr. Jin’s non-lawyer defender requested an open hearing but the request was denied by Jiang. It is unclear when a ruling will be issued. While his appeal is pending, Mr. Jin is held at the Dadong District Detention Center. Due to abuse his gastritis relapsed. It disappeared after he began practicing Falun Gong. He couldn’t eat much because he always felt bloated. He lost 40 pounds since his arrest in July 2024.

Deposed in April 2025

Appeals judge Jiang deposed Mr. Jin during a virtual meeting on April 27, 2025 and repeated the same charge against him that was used to convict him, namely, “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the communist regime to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.

Mr. Jin demanded to see the legal basis for this allegation. Jiang said there was no written document attesting to that but insisted Falun Gong was a cult. He then veered to other topics, such as who hired the trial lawyer for Mr. Jin, who got hito m retract his “confessions” during police interrogation, where he got the Falun Gong informational materials that were confiscated from his home, how he became acquainted with another Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhao Guiping (who was arrested together with him and later sentenced to five years in prison), and whether he knew a certain person.

Mr. Jin said that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it a cult. He added that it was within his constitutional right to own and share Falun Gong related materials. He then testified against the police for extracting confessions through torture. He pointed out that the trial court failed to play police videos in court to show his arrest, home raid and interrogation, or verify the prosecution evidence. They also prohibited him from defending himself in court, and refused to consider his lawyer’s legal opinion.

Jiang accused Mr. Jin of being anti-society and anti-science without giving any reasons. He then determined that the appeals court needed to do further investigation as the police took the printer confiscated from Mr. Jin’s home and reformatted his computer. It’s unclear whether an investigation was done afterwards.

Defender Warned to Keep Case File Photos Confidential

Mr. Jin’s non-lawyer defender, Xun (alias), went to the Shenyang City Intermediate Court on April 30, 2024 to review his case file. When Xun was almost done, a clerk suddenly warned him not to take pictures of the file as he was not a lawyer. He immediately produced documents showing a non-lawyer defender had the same rights as a lawyer. The clerk insisted he delete the photos as judge Jiang said no photos. Xun stood his ground and Jiang relented but warned him to keep the photos confidential.

When Xun reviewed the case file again on May 8, 2025, Jiang again warned him to keep the photos confidential.

Open Hearing Request Denied

Xun called judge Jiang to request an opening of the appeals case but the judge said that he could not guarantee it. Xun replied that he had plans to submit written requests for an open hearing and exclusion of police-supplied evidence that was gathered illegally. He again pointed out the trial court’s severe violation of legal procedures. Jiang immediately shot back, “I know whether the trial court violated legal procedures! I do not necessarily have to say yes to your open hearing request!”

Xun also requested to have the police videos played in the open hearing during the appeals case. Jiang said it was not always necessary to play such videos. He even claimed the fact that such videos existed was sufficient proof that the police did everything right. He then asked Xun to submit his defense statements in writing.

Xun later submitted his written requests as planned. Instead of directly responding to his requests, judge Jiang instructed his assistant Jin Liang (no relation to Mr. Jin) to call Xun for his written defense statement.

Jin relayed Jiang’s words that the intermediate court decided to not hold an open hearing and that the case was to be decided based on written statements. Xun insisted that he would not submit his written defense statement until his open hearing request was granted. Jin replied that the decision had been made and that he was simply making a courtesy call to remind Xun of the upcoming deadline to submit written defense statements. If Xun failed to submit the document in time, Jiang would issue a ruling based on the defense statements he used when representing Mr. Jin in his trial.

Xun proceeded to file a complaint against Jiang and Jin. He also demanded a revocation of Mr. Jin’s wrongful conviction and his immediate release.

Related Reports:

Two Liaoning Residents, 71 and 65, Sentenced to Prison for Practicing Falun Gong

Two Liaoning Residents Stand Trial for Practicing Falun Gong

Liaoning Man in Declining Health to Be Tried for His Faith, Defender Requests Recusal of Prosecutor and Judge

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