Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Yang Yuhui Put on Trial for Her Belief

(Minghui.org) On July 12, 2018, 52-year-old Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Yang Yuhui was tried in the Taihe District Court in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province. Her attorney defended her with solid evidence and she also spoke on her own behalf.

No decision was announced at the end of the hour-and-a-half trial.

Ms. Yang first requested that any presiding officials who were Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members be recused. Chief judge Zhang Decun denied her request.

During the trial, Zhang Decun asked Ms. Yang why she'd tried to have the CCP members recused. Ms. Yang said it was because of a conflict of belief: Falun Gong practitioners believe in gods while CCP members are atheists. Zhang didn't respond and continued with the proceedings.

When prosecutor Wang Xiaofang presented the evidence against Ms. Yang, her attorney replied to his questions in detail, to which the prosecutor had no reply.

The attorney emphasized that Ms. Yang had no intention of sabotaging law enforcement, nor did she. Moreover, the evidence presented had no relation to the crimes mentioned in the bill of indictment. In no way did Ms. Yang “damage society.” The attorney asked the court to pronounce Ms. Yang innocent and release her immediately.

Ms. Yang said in her statement that she was following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and didn't commit any crime.

The trial was held in a small courtroom, so some of Ms. Yang's relatives were not allowed to attend. The first row was occupied by several officials, whom informants said were from the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee.

Background

Ms. Yang Yuhui is from Jinzhou City.

At 8:00 p.m. on September 29, 2017, a group of police officers broke open Ms. Yang's security door and entered her home. They held her down on the floor and handcuffed her and then handcuffed her husband, too. Officers involved in the siege included Captain Li Lei from the local Domestic Security Division, Taihe District Branch Police Bureau, Jinzhou City, and plainclothes officers from the local Domestic Security Division, Criminal Investigation Division, Patrol Police Brigade and Jizhou Daughter River Police Station.

Without showing their IDs, a search warrant, or any other legal document, they ransacked the computers, printers, cell phones, and other personal belongings, including 4,000 yuan in cash (later partially returned), a 500-yuan debit card, and the couples' IDs, which were later returned.

Ms. Yang was taken to the Jinzhou Daughter River Police Station and interrogated for about 5 hours—until 3:40 a.m. the next morning. Then she was transferred to Jinzhou City Detention Center. Even though her blood pressure was high and not in compliance with the condition for admittance, the detention center still took her.

On the evening of September 30, Guo Hong and other inmates mistreated Ms. Yang. On October 8, inmates Guo Hong, Jin Hong, Du Wei, and Dong Na bound her with rope and beat her violently. They tried to force her to give up practicing Falun Gong and to write the three statements. They threatened her, saying, “If you do not write them today, we will beat you again tomorrow!”

They quit beating her only after Ms. Yang's attorney talked to the superintendent of the detention center.

On October 12, 2017, Ms. Yang's arrest was approved by the Taihe District Procuratorate.

On December 10, Li Lei with the Taihe District Domestic Security Division transferred Ms. Yang's case to the Taihe District Procuratorate. Her case was returned to the Taihe Branch Police Bureau twice for further investigation.

At the end of March 2018, the Taihe District Procuratorate filed an indictment against Ms. Yang and forwarded it to the Taihe District Court.

During that time, Ms. Yang's family kept telling law enforcement officials the facts about Falun Gong and pleaded for justice. The officials ignored them, and the family was subject to personal threats.

Informants said that Ms. Yang's arrest had been plotted earlier. Jinzhou City Police Bureau, Taihe Branch, had set up a special team under deputy chief Zhang Jiuyi and included Liu Changjie from the Taihe Police Bureau, Li Wenhu from the Taihe District Political and Legal Affairs Committee, Li Lei from the Taihe Domestic Security Division and police officer Gao Hui.

Healthy and Energetic Since Taking Up Falun Gong

Ms. Yang Yuhui was employed at Jinzhou Daughter River Textile Factory before she retired. Due to years of shift work, she had many health problems, such as high blood pressure, skin disease, irregular heartbeat, and convulsions.

After she began to practice Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa), all her ailments disappeared. For two decades, she has never taken any medicine or needed to see a doctor.

Ms. Yang took good care of her 84-year-old father, who lost consciousness and has been paralyzed for several years. She and her sisters took turns having their father in their homes to look after him. Even when her father was living in her sister's home in another city, she often went to visit him.

Ms. Yang treated her 86-year-old parents-in-law the same way. Although the couple lived with Ms. Yang's sister-in-law, Ms. Yang went to visit them every day and cooked for them with her sister-in-law.

Ms. Yang has been held in a detention center for more than nine months. Her family is anxious for her return.

Contact Information for the Parties Involved in Persecuting Ms. Yang:

Taihe District Court, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province
55 Fuxi Rd., Taihe District, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, Postal Code: 121000Chief Judge: Zhang Decun, [phone], [phone]

Taihe District Procuratorate, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province
207 W Jiefang Rd., Taihe District, Jinzhou City, Liaoning ProvincePostal Code: 121000Prosecutor: Wang Xiaofang, [phone], [phone]Assistant Prosecutor: Wang Qianqiao, [phone], [phone]

Taihe District Police Bureau, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province
205 W Jiefang Rd., Taihe District, Jinzhou City, Liaoning ProvincePostal Code: 121000Deputy Chief: Zhang Jiuyi, [phone], [phone]Captain of Taihe District Domestic Security Division: Li Lei, [phone], [phone]

Taihe District Political and Legal Committee, Jinzhou City, Liaoning ProvinceLi Wenhu224 W Jiefang Rd., Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, Postal Code: 121000