(Minghui.org) Ms. Sun Yanhuan, a 58-year-old teacher, was arrested on December 24, 2015, for filing a criminal complaint against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin for ordering the persecution of Falun Gong that resulted in her being detained in the past.
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted in China since 1999. Ms. Sun was released on bail, but the police took her back into custody on November 8, 2016. She has remained in Jiamusi Detention Center ever since.
Ms. Sun was tried on September 27, 2017, for “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext the Chinese Communist regime uses to frame and convict practitioners. She pleaded not guilty, arguing that she was exercising her constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of belief. After her lawyer presented his argument, the presiding judge of the Dongfeng District Court returned the case to the prosecution for insufficient evidence.
By the time Ms. Sun’s second hearing was held on October 16, the prosecution had procured additional evidence. Ms. Sun’s lawyer argued that none of the evidence presented linked Ms. Sun to a crime; in addition, the evidence was obtained illegally. The prosecution could not produce a witness or officer who handled the case. The lawyer asked for the case to be dismissed and for Ms. Sun to be released immediately. The judge adjourned the hearing without rendering a verdict.
Lawyer Refutes Charges
During the second hearing, the lawyer argued that the charges against Ms. Sun were groundless.
He pointed out that Ms. Sun was charged with violating Article 300 of the Criminal Law, which stipulates that those using a cult organization to undermine enforcement of the law should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.
However, since the People’s Congress (China’s legislative body) has never enacted a law deeming Falun Gong a “cult,” former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin directed the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate to issue a statutory interpretation of Article 300 in November 1999, which required that anyone practicing or promoting Falun Gong be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.
He then stated that a new statutory interpretation that replaced the 1999 version took effect on February 1, 2017. The new interpretation made no mention of Falun Gong and emphasized that an indictment against anyone engaging in a cult must be based on solid legal grounds. Since no law in China labels Falun Gong a cult, the indictment against Ms. Sun lacked a legal basis.
One example of the evidence to convict Ms. Sun was her possession, reading, and dissemination of Falun Gong books. The police and prosecutors also cited two notices issued by China's Administration of Press and Publications in July 1999 to ban the publication of Falun Gong books. However, the Administration issued a repeal of the ban in 2011, and it is now legal for practitioners to own Falun Gong books.
Ms. Sun Testifies Against Police
At the end of the second hearing, Ms. Sun testified how the police had violated legal procedures and attempted to fabricate evidence against her. The indictment states that she was arrested at home, but Ms. Sun said that the police grabbed her on the street and confined her in the police station before taking her house keys. They ransacked her home to collect their “evidence” and never told her what was taken from her home.
Also, she was first accused of suing a former state leader. After the Supreme People’s Procuratorate issued a notice in 2017 allowing citizens to file complaints against former state leaders using aliases, her case was transferred to another jurisdiction, and she was accused of “using a cult to undermine law enforcement.”
In addition, “500 copies of Falun Gong literature,” which she never possessed and which the prosecutor failed to present in court, suddenly appeared in the list of evidence. This was not the only item that was sneaked into her case file. Ms. Sun said that a copy of a phony deposition, which she refused to sign on July 13, 2017, appeared in her file weeks later, when her lawyer reviewed her case.
Finally, the indictment mentioned that Ms. Sun had participated in an illegal appeal to the provincial superior court in October 2015, which was then used as evidence against her. Ms. Sun stated that she went to the high court in Harbin to report the illegal imprisonment of Falun Gong practitioners in a local brainwashing center and how the local court violated legal procedures when trying the practitioners. She emphasized that it was her constitutional right to appeal violations of legal rights.
Related reports:
Ms. Sun Yanhuan Arrested and Family Member Denied Visitation Rights
Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province: Procuratorate Returns Case against Falun Gong Practitioner to Police
Related article in Chinese: 再次被开庭-佳木斯女教师孙艳环要求无罪释放
