(Minghui.org) Renowned attorney Xie, from Beijing, made an excellent defense for the innocence of a Falun Gong practitioner in the Xinmin Municipal Court on November 15, 2012. He refuted one by one the so-called evidence and illegal accusations against Ms. Wang Jing by the prosecutors. The court was forced to adjourn when the prosecutor and judges could not state their case.

 
Ms. Wang Jing

Attorney Xie pointed out that there are no laws in China that designate Falun Gong as a cult, and that to believe in Falun Gong is completely legal. When Falun Gong practitioners persist in their belief, clarify the facts and hand out materials that explain the truth, they are actually upholding the freedom of belief for fellow citizens and these actions are entirely legal. Any persecution against Falun Gong practitioners from government organizations or individuals is a crime of “illegal deprivation of citizen's religious beliefs” and those who commit these crimes should be held responsible. The illegal persecution by the 610 Office of the persecution of Falun Gong is actually an act of administrative intervention by law enforcement.

Ms. Wang Jing was a nurse in the eye disease section of Xinmin City Hospital. She was a diligent worker and caring towards the patients. During her testimony she stated over and over again the benefits she received from practicing Falun Gong.

On August 28, 2012, the Domestic Security Division of Shenyang City ordered the Xinmin City Police Department and the local Dongnan Street Police Station to arrest Ms. Wang. She was taken to the Shenyang City Detention Center and held because the police were trying to “maintain stability prior to the 18^th Convene of CCP”. The police then fabricated so-called evidence to indict her. Seeking justice, Ms. Wang's family members hired an internationally renowned attorney to defend her. A plea of innocence was submitted to the court.

The day of the trial, the court tried to make trouble for the attorney by delaying the trial time using various excuses. The attorney sternly refused the rescheduling and demanded the trial be held in the morning. Policeman Wang Bingyuan from the Domestic Security Division of Xinmin City brought in ten policemen to threaten the family members and friends who were there listening. They were illegally videotaped and then told this was to “maintain order in the court”. They also threatened the attorney, but were quickly silenced when the attorney asked about the legality of their actions. It was an open trial, but the court restricted anyone who wanted to listen. This was a telling sign that they were afraid of being exposed.

The defense attorney pointed out that no laws exist dictating that Falun Gong is a cult. Over the years statements have been made by the Public Security Ministry and Internal Affairs Ministry as well as an explanation from the High Court after 1999 about Falun Gong in this regard. These statements were not compliant with the Constitution and are therefore invalid. Thus, none of these statements are viable when used as a legal basis for indicting Falun Gong practitioners. The first time Falun Gong was linked to a cult was in October 1999, when Jiang Zemin publicly made this claim during an interview with a French reporter. On October 30, 1999 the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Congress published its decision to ban cult organizations and activities. Following this decision, the High Court issued a notice on November 5, 1999, and linked Falun Gong with a cult once again. The defense argued that an official's word is not the law and cannot be used as the basis for establishing a case. An internal notice from the High Court cannot be used as grounds to indict either. No matter whether it was the leaders of the nation or the organizations of the government, their authority and the legal actions that they take can only originate from the Constitution and the Rule of Law. There is not a law in China that empowers a government leader or High Court with the authority to decide whether an organization is a cult.

The attorney also pointed out that the prosecutor misinterpreted the law by indicting Ms. Wang on the charge of “sabotaging law enforcement” by using a cult. It is a common practice in the world to separate politics and religion. A government cannot interfere with a citizen's religious belief. Therefore, a government organization cannot use forceful measures to stop a person from believing in Falun Gong. The principle of separation of religion and state was also violated when a government organization decided that Falun Gong was a cult. By prosecuting Ms. Wang, she was deprived of the fundamental freedom of belief and the responsible parties should be punished accordingly to the law. The prosecutor did not provide evidence that could prove Ms. Wang used a cult to sabotaged law enforcement, and the current law does not explicitly prohibit a citizen from practicing Falun Gong. Because practicing Falun Gong is legal, without changing the law, a government organization would be violating the law if it interfered with Falun Gong activities. The attorney sternly warned the 610 Office and the Political and Judiciary Committee that their actions were the administrative intervention of law enforcement. This case was basically a patch-up case, i.e., arrest a person first and then look for the evidence. It is common for a case to be trumped up and politicized after a person is arrested, by fabricating evidence. Falun Gong has been intentionally demonized, and if a practitioner is not heavily sentenced, the judiciary personnel would be accused of being unpatriotic and disloyal to the government. Ms. Wang Jing used peaceful means to spread her belief and clarify the facts that Falun Gong has been slandered. Falun Gong has never harmed society and practicing does not constitute a crime.

The family members and the police became even more clear about the facts of Falun Gong. In the end, the attorney requested that the court follow the law to the letter and declare Ms. Wang Jing to be innocent and acquit her immediately. The public prosecutor and the court judge had no rebuttal and were forced to adjourn. The trial ended abruptly.

Ms. Wang Jing has been persecuted multiple times for practicing Falun Gong and safeguarding her legal right of freedom of belief. She went to Beijing to appeal peacefully in 2000 and was arrested and taken to the Longshan Labor Camp, where she suffered two and half years of persecution. Between April and May of 2004, Jia Qinglin did an inspection of Xinmin City and Ms. Wang was locked up at the Shenyang City Detention Center for two weeks to prevent her from appealing. In September 2005, a practitioner in Faku County was persecuted. Ms. Wang accompanied the practitioner's father to the Faku County Government to demand the practitioner's release and she was arrested and taken to the Masanjia Labor Camp, where she was subjected to one and a half years of forced labor.

Ms. Wang's experiences are just the tip of an iceberg. During this brutal persecution against Falun Gong, countless kind people have been forced to become homeless and destitute, their families have been broken apart, and many have lost their lives. We believe more facts of the persecution will be exposed in the near future.

In order to maintain a dictatorship, the CCP has overlooked the corruption of party officials, and has instead used the judiciary system to persecute the believers of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. This goes against heavenly principles and humanity. This shameful page of history is about to be turned with the disintegration of the CCP. People are waking up. During this period, anyone who has illegally detained and persecuted practitioners has committed multiple crimes. In the near future, the responsible individuals and parties are bound to be prosecuted by the law and condemned by the moral, just people of conscience.

Judges are the last defense for justice, fairness and the conscience of society. They are the hope of the common people. When this last line of defense is destroyed and twisted by the authorities, this will announce the arrival of the biggest disaster to our nation. We hope the judges of Xinmin City follow their conscience when making their final decision.