(Minghui.org) Three Falun Gong practitioners stood trial for their faith on October 29, 2020. Their three lawyers entered not-guilty pleas for them. The practitioners also testified in their own defense. The presiding judge frequently interrupted the lawyers and practitioners and didn’t allow them to talk about Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Xie Wanmeng, a Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province resident, was arrested at his apartment on May 28, 2019. His two guests, Mr. Wu Rui (also a Shenzhen local) and Ms. Li Ruihua (a Beijing resident), were also arrested. The police ransacked the place and confiscated Mr. Xie’s 10,000 yuan in cash and other personal belongings.
Mr. Xie was targeted because he had been recorded on surveillance cameras putting up information about Falun Gong. The police tracked down his residence through monitoring.
The three practitioners appeared in Yantian Court on October 29, 2020. Whenever the practitioners and their lawyers brought up the topic of Falun Gong, including the lack of legal basis for the persecution, judge Duan Hui stopped them.
Mr. Xie’s lawyer said that the Chinese Constitution and a resolution passed by the United Nations protect the freedom of belief. Judge Duan said to him, “You aren’t allowed to talk about the Constitution. This case is about the criminal law. You can’t talk about the United Nations resolution either. We are in China, and we only follow Chinese law.” When Mr. Xie’s lawyer continued to talk, the judge threatened to remove him from the courtroom.
