(Minghui.org) A Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province resident stood trial on November 9, 2020 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. Ms. Yin Lanhua's lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her and she also testified in her own defense.
The police broke into Ms. Yin’s home around 9 p.m. on July 6, 2020 and arrested her. Her Falun Gong books, related materials, and some banknotes printed with messages about Falun Gong (as a way to overcome strict information censorship in China to raise awareness of the persecution), were confiscated.
Ms. Yin was brought to the Xiangyang Police Station after her arrest. The police locked her in a chair for interrogation for three days, with her hands cuffed behind her back. She was transferred to the Liaoyuan City Detention Center on July 9.
Ms. Yin’s son went to the Liaoyuan City Procuratorate and filed complaints against police officer Guo Kaiming for arresting his mother. The procuratorate refused to accept his complaints.
The Longshan District Court held a hearing through a video conference on November 9. Ms. Yin was charged with “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” a standard pretext used to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners. She denied the charges against her and said she merely wanted to be a good person and has not undermined any law’s enforcement.
Ms. Yin also testified that after she was taken to the police station, the police put a black hood on her head and beat her. She went into cardiac arrest and was sent to the hospital for resuscitation. After she was sent back to the police station hours later, the police locked her in a chair, handcuffed her hands behind her back and also tied up her arms. She wasn’t allowed to stand up or use the restroom, and the guards barely provided any food to her during the three-day interrogation.
The judge asked Ms. Yin whether she made the Falun Gong materials herself. She said that she didn’t have the equipment required to do that. She added that even if she owned the materials, it would be totally lawful, as no law has criminalized Falun Gong in China and the Chinese publication bureau has also lifted the ban on Falun Gong books in 2011.
The lawyer pointed out the discrepancy in her case document. Although Ms. Yin was arrested on July 6, the police put July 8 as her arrest date without providing any explanation. In addition, the police also interrogated her and fabricated evidence against her. “What the police did violated the law, so the evidence they provided can’t be used against my client,” the lawyer said.
The judge and prosecutor remained silent.
Another two practitioners, Yue Changyou and Ms. Ji Fengxia, who were arrested on the same day as Ms. Yin for distributing Falun Gong materials in a residential area, were also tried by the Longshan District Court on November 9. Details about their hearings remain to be investigated.
