(Minghui.org) Two of our local Falun Gong practitioners were arrested last year. The police noted Gary (alias) first after someone reported him distributing literature exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. Instead of arresting him right away, the police followed him to practitioner John (alias)'s house, which was a materials production site in our area.
The police raided John's house and arrested both him and Gary. The rest of the story, however, was quite different for the two of them. Gary maintained righteous thoughts and was soon released on bail. John, on the other hand, admitted to the police-fabricated evidence against him and remained incarcerated.
All of our local practitioners worked together to seek justice for Gary and John. We hired a lawyer to defend John, and in the meantime assisted Gary in preparing his testimony.
At their joint trial after the new year, Gary testified on his own behalf, and the lawyer represented John and entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. The judge and the prosecutor were unable to refute the defense arguments and could only listen quietly.
This experience helped us see the power of righteous thoughts as we worked together to rescue Gary and John.
Encouraging the Lawyer to Plead Not Guilty for John
John's family initially refused our help, as they felt that our participation would only intensify his persecution. They tried to work their connections to get John released, only to see his arrest approved and his case forwarded to the court.
We were not deterred by the family's attitude. Some practitioners in the surrounding cities suggested sending forth righteous thoughts for John 24 hours a day, and many of our local practitioners joined in.
John's family no longer objected after one of our practitioners found a well-known local lawyer for John. We didn't pin all our hopes on the lawyer though, as we were clear it was our responsibility to save sentient beings through this process, including the lawyer.
To help the lawyer better represent John, we collected various expertise from upstanding lawyers in other provinces who had represented practitioners.
At the beginning, the lawyer was hesitant about the prospect of entering a not-guilty plea for John, since he had already admitted “guilt” to the police. The practitioner who had contacted the lawyer initially encouraged him to uphold justice for John, who had broken no law by producing materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong.
The lawyer subsequently went to the local Bureau of Justice to enter a not-guilty plea for John. The staff there were shocked he had the bravery to take on a Falun Gong case, much less plead not-guilty. They demanded that he give up his efforts, but relented when they failed to produce any legal backing for the ban on Falun Gong in China.
Working with Gary on His Court Statements
I shared my understanding of the situation with Gary while he was awaiting trial at home. I encouraged him to intensify his Fa study to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of exposing the persecution. He said that he was determined to walk the path that Master has arranged for him and to save more sentient beings.
I worked with Gary on putting together a defense package. The main message was that the persecution of Falun Gong has been illegal from the onset, as there is no law in China that criminalizes the practice.
Gary and I agreed that his job at the trial was to debunk the regime's lies about Falun Gong. He also mailed his defense statement to some government agencies a few days before the trial.
While we were preparing for the trial, Master arranged for a practitioner to coordinate the setup of Fa-study groups. Before this practitioner's involvement, our area lacked such a good environment.
With increased group Fa-study, we quickly came to an understanding that the upcoming trial was something that the old forces cooked up to test practitioners and to cause the judge and other legal professionals to commit sins against practitioners. We must completely negate the old forces' arrangement, since Master does not acknowledge it.
Judge and Prosecutor Have No Rebuttal During the Trial
On the day of the trial, many practitioners came to send forth righteous thoughts in the vicinity of the courthouse.
Without legal representation, Gary defended his own innocence. His righteous thoughts silenced the judge and the prosecutor. He was able to read aloud his defense statement without interruption.
John's lawyer also offered a rebuttal to the prosecutor's accusations against him.
The judge and the prosecutor remained silent as Gary and John's lawyer made their cases and demanded their immediate release.
We experienced the power of righteous thoughts from everyone through our involvement in the trial. We are also fortunate to be connected with practitioners from all over the world through the Minghui website in our efforts to save sentient beings.
