(Minghui.org) A Beijing resident was tried on December 2 for "using a cult to undermine law enforcement," a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime in its attempt to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.
Mr. Qin Wei was arrested on May 18, 2016, by someone to whom he gave a copy of the The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. His latest arrest is his eighth for refusing to renounce Falun Gong.
Only three family members were allowed inside the courtroom. Mr. Qin’s two lawyers argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that their client should never have been prosecuted for exercising his constitutional right to freedom of belief and freedom of the press.
The lawyers also pointed out the violations of legal procedure committed by the police and the procuratorate. They demanded his acquittal.
One of the lawyers, Mr. Yu, asked why the case ended up in the court when the procuratorate had returned it to police on August 22, citing insufficient evidence. There was no new evidence, but the procuratorate forwarded it to the court anyway.
Mr. Yu next questioned the identity of the tipster who claimed he was given the Nine Commentaries and then arrested Mr. Qin.
The indictment said nothing about who the tipster was. Mr. Yu argued that if the tipster was a regular citizen, then he should not have had any authority to arrest Mr. Qin. On the other hand, if the tipster was a law enforcement officer in plainclothes, he should have presented his ID before detaining Mr. Qin.
The prosecutor was unable to name the said tipster or produce the person in court.
Another lawyer, Mr. Liu, challenged the prosecutor to present a third-party assessment of the contents of the book if he wanted to show that Mr. Qin had undermined law enforcement by distributing it.
Mr. Qin followed up by saying he distributed the book to help people understand the brutal nature of the Chinese Communist Party and to see the illegality of its persecution of Falun Gong. He added that the book caused no harm to anyone or society at large, let alone undermined law enforcement.
The prosecutor had no independent assessment to present in court. He kept saying that Mr. Qin was a career criminal, but the judge stopped him after Mr. Qin said that his eight arrests were a result of the illegal persecution and that the police were breaking the law by arresting innocent citizens for their faith.
The prosecutor recommended 3-7 years in prison, and the judge adjourned the hearing without delivering a verdict.
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