(Minghui.org) An 80-year-old resident of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, stood trial on March 4, 2024 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
The presiding judge forced Ms. Wang Guixia’s family to drop her non-lawyer defender moments before the hearing was to begin. Only her lawyer was allowed to represent her. She is still being held at the Jinzhou City Women’s Detention Center at the time of this writing.
Initially Arrested in 2022 and Released on Bail
Ms. Wang’s trial stemmed from her arrest on the afternoon of September 25, 2022, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong at the local Beihu Park. Officers from the Shiqiaozi Police Station also raided her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books. She was later released on bail.
Ms. Wang submitted a request to the Shiqiaozi Police Station and its supervising agency, the Linghe District Police Department, on December 20, 2022, asking that they revoke her bail and clear her of prosecution. She also sought the return of her confiscated belongings. She did not receive a response and submitted another request to the Linghe District Police Department asking for information disclosure regarding her arrest and bail conditions. The police department rejected her request on the grounds that her case did not qualify for open information disclosure.
Harassed in 2023
Two people from the Linghai City Procuratorate showed up at Ms. Wang’s home one day in early July 2023, and stated they had received her case. She was not in, and they had her family sign her case file on her behalf. [Linghai is under the administration of Jinzhou City. The Linghai City Procuratorate and Linghai City Court have been designated to handle Falun Gong cases in the greater Jinzhou area.]
A prosecutor called Ms. Wang’s family on July 11, 2023, and asked them to tell her to report to the procuratorate to be deposed. Her family said she would not go because she had not broken any law by practicing her faith.
While her case was pending, the Shiqiaozi Police Station, which arrested Ms. Wang, and the Jinhua and Shiyou Police Stations, which were both in charge of her residential area, harassed her family numerous times attempting to make her sign various paperwork to facilitate her prosecution.
Taken Back Into Custody in 2024 and Indicted
The police took Ms. Wang back into custody on February 1, 2024. By the time her family was notified of her arrest, she had already been taken to the Jinzhou City Women’s Detention Center.
The Linghai City Procuratorate issued a formal arrest warrant for Ms. Wang on February 5, 2024 and indicted her on February 20. The Linghai City Court notified her that a hearing was scheduled for March 4 at the visitation room of the Jinzhou City Women’s Detention Center.
Judge Forces Family to Drop Defender Just Prior to Start of Hearing
Before starting the trial on March 4, judge Huang Yanchun verified Ms. Wang’s non-lawyer defender’s personal information and also called the police station in the defender’s residential area to confirm his identity.
Since everything the defender said was accurate, Huang had no excuse to disqualify him from being Ms. Wang’s defender. She then turned to Ms. Wang’s family to intimidate them. She reprimanded them for hiring a defender for Ms. Wang when there was already a defense lawyer.
Huang next called Ms. Wang’s daughter, who hired the defender but was not able to attend the hearing, and threatened her, “You will face consequences for hiring a defender for your mother.”
Ms. Wang’s daughter agreed to drop the defender because she feared that Huang might give her mother a heavier sentence if she did not do so.
Huang then announced that the hearing would start, the details of which remain to be investigated.
A recent Minghui.org article reported that the Linghai City Court has sentenced 48 Falun Gong practitioners since 2022. According to insiders, Huang was responsible for convicting at least ten practitioners.
Related Reports:
Once Jailed for 4 Years, 80-Year-Old Liaoning Woman Faces Indictment for Her Faith in Falun Gong
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