Courthouse Heavily Guarded, Family Denied Entry in Trial of Jilin Teacher

(Minghui.org) Dozens of police officers surrounded Shulan People's Court on November 6, 2014, blocking members of the public from witnessing the show trial of Mr. Zhao Yongcai, a practitioner of Falun Gong.

Mr. Zhao was charged under Article 300 of China's Criminal Code with “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement,” routinely used by the Communist regime to arbitrarily arrest and imprison practitioners nationwide as part of its violent campaign of persecution against Falun Gong.

Mr. Zhao is an elementary school teacher in Shulan, Jilin Province. He was arrested at work by Domestic Security police on July 4, 2014, and held in Nanshan Detention Center.

Before the trial, the Shulan City 610 Office ordered dozens of officers to surround the courthouse and refuse entry to anyone except police and government employees approved to attend the trial.

Mr. Zhao's family said they were not notified of the trial in advance and were deliberately kept in the dark. When they arrived at the courthouse, a 610 Office agent gave them an erroneous start time for the trial. They did not realize the trial had already adjourned until Mr. Zhao's lawyer exited the courthouse.

Two other Falun Gong practitioners tried to attend the trial but were driven out by the deputy head of the local 610 Office, personnel from the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and other officials.

Mother Detained after Demanding to Visit Son

Mr. Zhao's mother went to the Shulan City Police Department multiple times and demanded to visit her son in the detention center. She was illegally detained by the police on August 27.

When his family asked to visit Mr. Zhao, Zhang Haijiang, a deputy department head, called Nanshan Detention Center and threatened to arrest the family members for practicing Falun Gong. He then pushed the family out of his office. Mr. Zhao's family returned on August 26 but were again forced out of the station.

The next day, Mr. Zhao’s mother and his aunt tried yet again. A deputy department head called another police station and said, “Falun Gong is causing trouble…” before ordering several officers to push Mr. Zhao’s mother and aunt into a police car outside.

The two elderly women were taken to Nancheng Police Station. Frightened and angry, Mr. Zhao’s mother suffered a seizure. Officers later collected her fingerprints against her will.

After determining that Mr. Zhao's mother did not practice Falun Gong, the police released her that afternoon.

Parties Involved in Persecuting Mr. Zhao

610 Office:Li Yongbo (李永波), head, [phone]Zhu Jingbo (朱景波), deputy head, [phone]Wang Hanming (王汉明), section chief, [phone]

Shulan City Police Department:Hou Changfu (侯长富), head, [phone]Zhang Haijiang (张海江), deputy head, [phone]Dong Qiming (董其明), team lead of Domestic Security Division, [phone]

Shangying Police Station:Fu Wenzhong (付文忠), head, [phone]Qu Xiangming (曲向明), political instructor, [phone]