Six Hebei Residents Tried in Shandong, Family Defenders and One Lawyer Blocked from Courtroom

(Minghui.org) Six Hebei Province residents were tried by a court in Shandong Province on April 18, 2025, for their shared faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Arrests of the Six Practitioners

Five of the practitioners, including Ms. Zhang Wenping, Ms. Cheng Guijun, Ms. Song Guifen, Mr. Men Bingcheng and Mr. Yu Yongli, are residents of Dongguang County, Hebei Province. Ms. Li Zhenying lives in neighboring Hengshui City in the same province.

The six practitioners were monitored by officers from the Ningjin County Domestic Security Division in Shandong Province for six months, after the police found out that they had been visiting the local community fair in Ningjin County (about 40 miles away) on a regular basis to talk to people about Falun Gong. The Shandong police said they knew everything about the daily schedules of the practitioners and their family members.

Ms. Zhang, Ms. Cheng and Ms. Song were arrested on the morning of June 19, 2024, when they went to Ningjin County again. In the afternoon, several plainclothes officers from the Ningjin County Domestic Security Division drove about 50 miles to Dongguang County and raided the three practitioners’ homes with help from the local police.

Around the same time, the police in Dongguang County arrested Mr. Men, Mr. Yu and Ms. Li at their respective homes and confiscated several computers and printers. There was also an unverified report that Mr. Men was actually arrested in Ningjin County, not at his home.

The six practitioners are currently held at the Dezhou City Detention Center. Dezhou oversees Ningjin. Prosecutor Zheng Fangrong of the Ningjin County Procuratorate approved their arrests on July 29, 2024 and indicted them in early October 2024.

Court Hearing

Three days before the hearing on April 18, 2025, the Ningjin County Court called the practitioners’ families, saying that each family could have two members attend the session and that the attendees must also provide their names, ID numbers and proof of their relationship to the practitioners.

On the day of the hearing, over 70 police officers were dispatched to check cars passing by. All practitioners’ family members who came to attend the hearing were ordered to produce their vehicle registration and driver’s license. The police also took photos of their license plates. For those who came at a later time, the police forced them to park far away and walk to the court.

After the practitioners’ family members and lawyers entered the court, the bailiffs blocked the five family defenders from entering. The lawyer representing Ms. Zhang was also stopped at the gate, as he was waiting for one of the family members. Despite their strong protest, they were still denied entry and the judge proceeded to start the hearing without them.

Outside of the court, plainclothes officers videotaped the practitioners’ family members who weren’t allowed to enter the court. One family member recognized two officers who were involved in arresting their loved one and raiding their home. When they tried to take photos of the officers, the officers put on face masks and quickly left. The family also saw Tian Ruchuan, the deputy director of the Ningjin County Police Department, and Wang Zongjing, the political secretary, outside of the court.

When the hearing resumed after the lunch break, the bailiffs barred the practitioners’ family defenders and the lawyer from entering. With no other way to stop the hearing, the practitioners’ families decided to dismiss the lawyers (except for the lawyer representing Ms. Zhang, as he wasn’t allowed to enter the courtroom). Before leaving, the lawyers reminded the practitioners not to accept the court-appointed lawyers, as they would be instructed to enter a guilty plea for them.

Related Report:

Six Hebei Residents Face Prosecution for Talking to People about Falun Gong in Neighboring Shandong Province