77-year-old Woman Stands Trial for Practicing Falun Gong, Family Not Allowed to Attend Hearing

(Minghui.org) A 77-year-old Shenze County, Hebei Province resident stood trial on March 28, 2023, for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Yuan Wenge’s family arrived at the Jinzhou City Court on the early morning to attend her hearing, only to be stopped at the court entrance. The court refused to provide clear information about whether they would be allowed inside. Shortly before the hearing was about to start, the family called judge Li Shuangli, who hung up on them. The family then called court clerk Du Lichan. She asked them to wait at the entrance, but the family was never allowed inside during the entire court session.

This wasn’t the first time that the Jinzhou City Court had barred Falun Gong practitioners’ family members from attending their hearings. Before the joint hearing of the case against another eight practitioners on February 22, 2023, the same judge Li specifically told their lawyer that the families were not allowed to attend the hearing. The lawyer made several attempts to contact Li about it but to no avail. Li claimed that while the hearing was open to the public, his supervisor didn’t approve the families of Falun Gong practitioners to attend. Li also refused to specify who was the supervisor.

Upon hearing about the eight practitioners’ story, Ms. Yuan’s family filed a complaint with the Shijiazhuang City Intermediate Court on March 1, demanding to attend her hearing. The receptionist said she would contact the Jinzhou City Court and she asked the family not to come anymore. But judge Li still denied their right to attend the hearing in the end.

Ms. Yuan was arrested on December 4, 2020, while talking to people about Falun Gong at a community fair. She was taken to the Shijiazhuang City Detention Center the next day but was denied admission due to high blood pressure. The police then released her on bail.

Ms. Yuan was arrested again on December 23, 2021, and taken to the Shijiazhuang City No. 2 Detention Center. She appeared in court after 15 months of detention.

Past Persecution

Ms. Yuan took up Falun Gong in 1998. Because she remains firm in her faith despite the persecution, she has been arrested and detained multiple times.

Ms. Yuan went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong when the persecution started in July 1999. The police took her back to the Shenze County and held her in a basement flooded with water and feces. She was starved for two days. The police extorted 200 yuan from her before allowing her to go home. She was deceived into going to the police station in October 1999 and extorted another 500 yuan.

Ms. Yuan was arrested again on July 20, 2000. She was detained for 20 days and had 200 yuan extorted from her. Believing that practicing Falun Gong didn’t violate any law, she returned to Beijing to appeal, only to be arrested and taken back again. This time, she was detained for 1.5 years, followed by one month of brainwashing at the Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp. She was also fined 1,000 yuan.

Four officers broke into Ms. Yuan’s home on August 20, 2019, and confiscated her Falun Gong books and informational materials. She tried to clarify the facts about Falun Gong to them, but they refused to listen.

Ms. Yuan went to the police station the next day, demanding the return of her Falun Gong books. The police said to her, “We have so many officers in the police station, and who knows who took your books.”

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Nie Yufeng (聂榆峰), president of Jinzhou City Court: [phone]Li Shuangli (李双利), judge of Jinzhou City Court: [phone]Xu Lihui (徐立辉), president of Jinzhou City Procuratorate: [phone]

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)