(Minghui.org) Four Falun Gong practitioners were tried in court on March 28, 2017 for filing criminal complaints against the former dictator, Jiang Zemin.
They were arrested on April 17, 2016 and had their homes ransacked. Practitioners in the area then contacted the families of the arrested practitioners and helped them with the process of hiring defense attorneys.
The four practitioners are Mr. Zhang Lilong, Mr. Zhao Li, Ms. Wang Guiping and Ms. Liu Fengxiang.
Details of the Trial
When the trial started, the judge announced that no one should talk about anything that relates to the nature of Falun Gong.
The prosecutor charged the practitioners with “using a cult to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners. The defense lawyers countered by saying that China’s law-making body, the People’s Congress, has never enacted any law to criminalize Falun Gong.
The prosecutor responded that the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate once issued documents to ban Falun Gong. The lawyer reminded him that the two agencies carry no authority to make laws.
The lawyers asked each practitioner if they were required to pay money to learn Falun Gong and if their doing the exercises negatively affected or harmed others. The practitioners all answered, “No.”
The defense lawyers focused on the arrest process next. They pointed out that the arrest process was illegal, as the police did not wear uniforms or produce identification. The information in the arrest documents did not match, and some of the dates were incorrect. There was also one document that was added in at a later date.
The prosecutor said that it’s become commonplace for the police to arrest people that way, so it was really no big deal. He had no answer when the lawyers asked him since when have the police been allowed to violate legal procedures.
The defense lawyers then addressed the evidence. As practitioners, it is normal to own Falun Gong books. Furthermore, the police did not provide a list of items confiscated and the “evidence” was shown in a few pictures, but was not brought to court.
The prosecutor argued that too many items were confiscated, hence it was inconvenient to transport them. The lawyer rebutted that they could at least bring to court a formal document listing the items confiscated, which the prosecutor again had no answer for.
Lastly, the lawyer asked why the case file included the practitioners' criminal complaints against Jiang, and if this arrest and trial was the authorities' attempt to take revenge on the practitioners for filing the complaints.
The prosecutor became angry and shouted that the practitioners made false accusations against Jiang, promoted Falun Gong, and encouraged people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
On this point, the defense lawyer asked if the prosecutor had evidence that the practitioners made false accusations.
On quitting the CCP, the defense lawyer argued that it is an individual's freedom to decide whether or not to quit the Party. No one can force them, nor do practitioners force anyone to do so against their will.
Finally, the practitioners had a chance to speak for themselves, and they pleaded with the court to uphold justice, stating that it is not wrong to have faith.
The trial started in the morning and ended in the evening.
Background
In 1999, Jiang Zemin, as head of the Chinese Communist Party, overrode other members of the Politburo Standing Committee and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong.
The persecution has led to the deaths of many Falun Gong practitioners over the past 16 years. Even more have been tortured for their belief and many have been killed for their organs. Jiang Zemin is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of the brutal persecution.
Under his personal direction, the Communist regime established an extralegal security organization – the 610 Office – on June 10, 1999. The organization overrides police forces and the judicial system in carrying out Jiang's directive regarding Falun Gong: to ruin their reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.
Chinese law allows its citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are now exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.
Related report:Beipiao Police Harass Practitioners Who Filed Criminal Complaints Against Jiang Zemin
