Four Practitioners Illegally Tried in Tianjin

(Minghui.org) Four Falun Gong practitioners—Mr. Wu Dianzhong, Ms. Li Mingjun, Ms. Wang Lianrong, and Mr. Geng Dong—were illegally tried by judge Liu Bin on the morning of June 22, 2018, in the Xiqing District Court of Tianjin.

The police and judicial system personnel who were involved in the arrests, interrogation, and trial broke the law in several instances.

First, the practitioners did not receive subpoenas from the court notifying them of the upcoming trial. Guards told them they would be tried on the day before the trial. In China, it is illegal not to subpoena a defendant prior to a trial.

Secondly, the police did not have a warrant at the time the practitioners were arrested. They also did not provide any receipts for the personal belongings they confiscated.

Thirdly, there were many fabrications in the interrogation records that the public prosecutor used during the trial. All four practitioners confirmed that many words quoted and used against them were fabricated, that they never said those things during their interrogations.

In addition, the police deceived Ms. Wang Lianrong. They claimed that her 80-year-old mother was sick and that, if Ms. Wang signed a confession statement admitting that she practiced Falun Gong, she would be released to go see to her mother. The police, however, didn’t release Ms. Wang after she signed the statement. Instead, they used it as evidence against her.

During the trial, Mr. Wu Dianzhong told the judge that he was experiencing chest pain and that his heart was racing. After being asked, Mr. Wu told the judge that he did not have any history of heart disease and that he started to have heart discomfort only after being detained. The judge ignored Mr. Wu's request for a recess and continued the trial.

As the practitioners’ attorney was presenting his case, the judge interrupted him and announced that the trial was adjourned.

All four practitioners pleaded not guilty and defended themselves. They each stated that Falun Dafa teaches people to be good, and to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. They emphasized that they became very healthy after practicing Falun Gong and that they always looked inward when encountering conflicts. They asked the court how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could claim they were "a danger to society" and accuse them of undermining the law when they were clearly good samaritans.

Background Information

In December of 2016, the Tianjin City domestic security division and local police stations conspired to arrest many Falun Gong practitioners at the same time. At least seven practitioners in Xiqing District were arrested, including Ms. Li Mingjun, Ms. Wang Lianrong, Mr. Tian, Mr. Geng Dong, Mr. Wu Dianzhong, Ms. Chen Wenyan, and her daughter. Mr. Tian, 85 was released on the same day, but the rest of the practitioners were detained at the Xiqing District Detention Center.

The Xiqing District Court tried Mr. Geng Dong, Mr. Wu Dianzhong, Ms. Li Mingjun, and Ms. Wang Lianrong. They also intended to sentence Mr. Geng and Mr. Wu to three to seven years of imprisonment.

Related parties who participated in the persecution against the practitioners:Liu Bin (刘斌), deputy president of the court and judge of the trial: [phone] ext. 214Cui Yanyun (崔砚云), public persecutor of the Xiqing District Procuratorate: [phone], [phone] ext.8207Xiqing District Police Department in Tianjin City: [phone]Tian Chunlin (田春林), chief of Xiqing District Detention Center: [phone], [phone]