(Minghui.org) After nine months of illegal detention, nine Falun Gong practitioners were tried in the No. 19 Court of the Changping District Court in Beijing on the morning of February 18, 2014.
One of the nine practitioners, Ms. Zhang Mingxia, boldly spoke out against the injustice. She called on the court to dismiss all law enforcement and judicial personnel that were Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members. She argued that the CCP was behind the persecution of Falun Gong and that all Party members were participants in the persecution, and therefore unfit to conduct a fair trial.
The judge was speechless for a long time, and then ordered bailiffs to take the nine practitioners out of the courtroom and called a recess.
Ten minutes later the proceedings were resumed. Judge Yang Weidong ordered the defendants' families to leave the courtroom. The judge put pressure on the defense attorneys and prevented them from speaking. Members of the Lawyers Association also attempted to interfere with the defense attorneys.
The trial was finally canceled.
Unlawful Arrests
The practitioners were arrested for tearing down signs that slandered Falun Gong in the Changping area on May 17, 2013. Those arrested included Ms. Li Yanling, Ms. Feng Xiaoling, Mr. Hao Funing, Ms. Zhang Mingxia, Mr. Yan Feng, Mr. Lin Fuhua, Mr. Zhu Jinsong, and Mr. Jin Yuantao. One person's name is unknown.
Early the following day, the police ransacked the practitioners' homes. They refused to offer any explanation to the families.
The nine practitioners had lost contact with their families since May 18, 2013. Two months later, their families finally received detention notifications from the Changping Police Department and arrest notifications from the Beijing Police Department.
Perpetrators' Contact Information:
Changping District Court: +86-10-80109233 Yang Weidong (杨为东), presiding judge: +86-10-80122260, +86-13911932916 (Cell) Qi Bingrui (齐炳瑞), head of Changping District 610 Office: +86-13701083776 Changping Police Department: +86-10-69746110 (More perpetrators' contact information available in the original Chinese article.)
