(Minghui.org) Shandong Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li Li, 45, was illegally tried by the Pingdu Court on September 1, 2017, in Pudong Detention Center in Qingdao. At the trial, which lasted two hours, Ms. Li insisted that practicing Falun Gong is not illegal. Her lawyer pleaded not guilty on her behalf and asked that Ms. Li be released immediately.
Ms. Li was arrested on April 11, 2017, for using computers and printers to make to make Falun Gong pamphlets. Her home was ransacked by officers from Taishan Road Police Station in Pingdu City. She has been held in the detention center ever since.
In the past, Ms. Li was arrested and imprisoned several times for a total of ten years after Jiang Zemin launched the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999. She was fired from her job for her belief. She was detained in a mental health hospital for about four months, taken to a forced labor camp for two years, and twice sentenced for four years each.
Falun Gong Changed Me into a Good Person
As she walked into the courtroom in handcuffs, Ms. Li shouted, “Falun Dafa is good! Stop persecuting Falun Gong!”
“Don't just shout! Tell them how you became a good person,” her family called out.
Ms. Li then described just how she had changed.
“Prior to becoming a cultivator, I never did any housework at home. At work, I was notorious for being a troublemaker. I did not work hard. I often argued with the supervisors for coming late and leaving early. I fell asleep while on duty. I sometimes took things home.
“After I started to practice, I behaved according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I started to cook, wash clothes, and do other housework. I took good care of my parents-in-law wholeheartedly.
“I reported to work on time and did not nap on duty. I quietly returned the unused items I had taken home and paid for those already consumed. When a conflict with co-workers arose, I did not bicker with them. I followed what Master Li, the founder of Falun Gong, taught us and started to look inward for how I might be at fault first. I always told the truth no matter how much it affected my self-interest.
“My supervisors and co-workers praised me. Coworkers came to me when they had an argument. The leaders often used me as a model for coworkers in the weekly meeting.”
Prosecutor Fails to Produce Valid Evidence
When the trial began, the prosecutor, Ma Xiaodong, accused Ms. Li of distributing Falun Gong materials on January 31. But he failed to provide any evidence to support that accusation.
The prosecutor then presented the testimony of witness Yang Kaifeng, who did not show up to testify in person. The witness alleged that Ms. Li gave him a Falun Gong pamphlet and then hung what he thought were Falun Gong pamphlets on people's doors because they looked like the one he got. He said that he saw the same kind of pamphlets in her handbag.
Ms. Li's lawyer questioned the accuracy of the testimony because the items listed with the court as evidence included Falun Gong books and amulets in addition to the pamphlets.
Accusations Have No Legal Basis
The prosecutor accused Ms. Li of “using a cult to disrupt the implementation of law,” a baseless charge the Chinese Communist Party frequently uses to justify the persecution of Falun Gong.
Ms. Li's lawyer argued that the accusation had no legal standing because Falun Gong has never been listed as one of the cult organizations by the Bureau of Public Security. The lawyer also asked how Ms. Li organized a cult and what laws or administrative rules she disrupted with the cult. The prosecutor had no reply.
The lawyer further pointed out that Ms. Li has the freedom of religion, which is protected by the Constitution and therefore any other law restricting freedom of belief is illegal and invalid. He said that Ms. Li was innocent and should be released immediately.
No Verdict
For his closing argument, the prosecutor just read pre-printed statements and asked the judge to sentence Ms. Li to three to seven years in prison.
The defense lawyer pointed out, “My client is a firm believer and a true cultivator. Even ten plus years of imprisonment did not make her renounce her belief in Falun Gong. Ms. Li would not violate any law. She did not disrupt the implementation of any law.
“Your honor, my client is a good person. Sending a good person to prison is irresponsible. You all know that a judicial official is legally liable, even if that person is following orders from his superiors. I hope that the judges on this collegial panel respect this citizen’s constitutional rights and make an impartial judgment. Ms. Li is innocent.”
No verdict was announced. A final judgment will be made by the collegial panel of judges.
Persons Responsible for Persecuting Ms. Li:
Ma Xiaodong (马晓东), prosecutor, Pingdu Procuratorate: +086-13953295191Dai Yugang (代玉刚), deputy head of the 610 Office: +086-532-87309201Cui Xuwei (崔续伟), officer, Taishan Road Police Station: +086-13370818885Tang Longwen (汤龙文), chief, Pingdu Police Department: +086-13606306367Liu Mingwei (刘明玮), director, Pingdu 610 Office: +086-18678977969
