(Clearwisdom.net) At 9:00 a.m. on June 23, 2011, under the control of the Changzhou City 610 Office, the Zhonglou District Court in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province illegally tried Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Yang Chanrong.
The courtroom was packed both inside and outside with police officers and other people. Over twenty individuals from various government, judicial, and legal departments waited inside the courtroom. Officers from the 610 Office kept a close watch on everyone outside the courtroom. Mr. Yang's two sisters were the only family members who were allowed to enter the courtroom.
Mr. Yang was illegally arrested by Changzhou 610 Office agents on May 26, 2010. He was brutally tortured for over 14 days in order to extort a confession. His torturers included chief Yang of the Zhonglou District Public Security Bureau, Ding Guoping from the Changzhou Domestic Security Division, and Jiao Dongning from the Zhonglou District Domestic Security Division. They deprived Mr. Yang of sleep and forced him to smoke cigarettes, knowing full well that smoking is prohibited in Falun Gong. When Mr. Yang refused, they took turns beating him relentlessly.
In July 2010, Yang from the Zhonglou District Public Security Bureau submitted Mr. Yang's case documents to the Zhonglou District Procuratorate. None of the documents contained Mr. Yang's statements or his signature. The procuratorate simply returned the documents to the Zhonglou District Public Security Bureau.
Within a year, the Zhonglou District Public Security Bureau submitted the case to the court three times and was rejected every time. Finally, the 610 Office intervened and had the court set a date for June 23, 2011.
During the trial, Mr. Yang was accused of downloading Falun Dafa materials online and giving others MP3 files that contained information about Falun Dafa. When Mr. Yang's lawyer Jin Guanghong from Beijing said that the judge needed to uphold the laws and punish only the wicked, procurator Du Weidong from the Zhonglou District Procuratorate gave him a warning. When Jin began to mention relevant overseas cases, Du warned him a second time. When Jin said that a judge needs to have a conscience when evaluating cases, Du warned him a third time. Judge Liu Jinfu then removed attorney Jin from the court.
Mr. Yang was left only to defend himself. He said a few words, but Du prohibited him saying anything further. The defense thus lasted only a few minutes. Judge Liu Jinfu sentenced Mr. Yang to six years in prison soon after.
More information about Mr. Yang Chanrong can be found at http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/10/21/120930.html.
People who participated in the persecution of Mr. Yang:
Ji Liming, head of the Changzhou 610 Office
Yang Xiaoming, political commissioner
