(Minghui.org) Mr. Wang Hongwei, 46, from Dalian City, Liaoning Province, stood trial on November 29, 2024 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Wang was arrested by officers from the Malan Police Station on July 13, 2024. The Shahekou District Police Branch put him in criminal detention at the Dalian City Detention Center (located in Yaojia Town). His father, in his 70s, traveled from their hometown in Qingyuan County (also located in Liaoning Province, about 300 miles away) to the Malan Police Station multiple times to seek his release and to have his confiscated computer and Falun Gong books returned, but to no avail.
The elderly Mr. Wang traveled the long distance to Dalian again on November 5, 2024. He asked the Ganjingzi District Procuratorate about his son’s case status and was told that it was forwarded to the Ganjingzi District Court on the 10th (unclear which month of August, September, or October it was).
The older man immediately hired a lawyer for his son. The lawyer visited the younger Mr. Wang on November 7, 2024 and learned that he developed high blood pressure due the pressure on him to renounce Falun Gong and admit his “guilt.” He was given medications every day to control his symptoms.
The lawyer went to the Ganjingzi District Procuratorate afterwards, but prosecutor Hu Tongjun (+86-411-39915137) refused to allow him to review the case file on the grounds that he did not have approval from the Dalian City Justice Bureau.
The lawyer immediately went to the justice bureau but was told he did not need their permission. He called Hu who said that defense lawyers for Falun Gong practitioners would not be allowed to review their case files. The lawyer pointed out that no law said this. Hu then said he still needed his law firm’s permission to get involved in a Falun Gong case. The lawyer agreed to this demand but it was unclear whether he eventually got to review the case file.
The Ganjingzi District Court held a virtual hearing of Mr. Wang’s case on November 29, 2024. His father and three relatives were not allowed to enter the courthouse. Judge Ni Shengjun (+86-411-82793742) said the elder Mr. Wang also practiced Falun Gong, so he and his family were not allowed to attend the hearing.
The younger Mr. Wang’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea for him. Prosecutor Hu claimed that the Falun Gong books and informational materials confiscated from his home were evidence that he broke the law. His lawyer pointed out that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that it was perfectly lawful to own Falun Gong publications.
The lawyer also testified against the police for monitoring his client and breaking into his client’s home to arrest him.
Mr. Wang recounted how he was subjected to repeated persecution for his faith, which he began practicing in February 1996. After the persecution began, the police often came to Dalian University of Technology to harass him. He was then a college student. He went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on January 1, 2000 and was arrested and sent back to Dalian. Afterwards, he was detained for 15 days and expelled from school. He returned to his hometown for the Chinese New Year celebrations on January 29, 2002, only to be arrested and given three years of forced labor. He escaped from the Tieling Labor Camp on September 26, 2002 and went into hiding. He was arrested again on January 4, 2004 and sentenced to ten years in prison. After he was released, he made a living by repairing appliances. He later interviewed for a job at Dalian Branch, China Oil and Foodstuffs Corporation. The hiring manager was very impressed and offered him the job, even after he learned that Mr. Wang was a Falun Gong practitioner.
Mr. Wang said he was chatting with someone (not sure whether it was in-person or online) on July 13, 2024 when the police broke in and arrested him. He and his lawyer demanded his acquittal. It is unclear when the judge will issue a ruling.
Related Reports:
Copyright © 2024 Minghui.org. All rights reserved.
