(Minghui.org) The Jinchun District Court of Jinchang City staged a trial on Wednesday, April 16, 2014, with only six or seven people as observers. Public security officials put Ms. Li Dexiang, who practices Falun Gong, on trial after fabricating charges against her and holding her for nearly eight months.
The hearing was scheduled at 9:00 a.m. A variety of vehicles were parked in the vicinity of the Jinchuan District Court entrance and nearby areas. Two or three people sat inside each vehicle. Only three relatives of Ms. Li's were allowed to enter the court as observers.
A court guard cornered off the court entrance a half-hour before the trial. Jinchang City Police Department officers and police from the district police stations surrounded the court. The officers were all wearing civilian clothes, except for several court guards in uniform.
Ms. Li Dexiang's family, and several Falun Gong practitioners arrived in the vicinity of the courthouse. The plainclothes officers covertly mingled with them, with the intention of spying on them.
A young man in civilian clothes stepped in front of the Falun Gong practitioners and openly photographed them. It was observed that three or four people in a van videotaped people outside the courthouse, even though they tried to do it secretly. The van circled the area twice. According to an eyewitness, Dai Baoji, who is involved in the persecution, was sitting inside the van.
Many police officers were dispatched for this trial. Over 30 government vehicles surrounded the court building, and 60 to 70 police officers surrounded the court. Zhang Yongsheng, Deputy Director of City Police Department, Li Yujun and Li Yongshen from the Guangzhou Road Police Branch Station, and other directors from other police branch stations were identified by the eyewitness.
Ms. Li Arrested Eight Months Ago
Ms. Li Dexiang was followed and arrested after she met with Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Duan Zhihu at 8:00 p.m. on August 28, 2013. Her husband (who is mentally ill) and son (who also displays symptoms of mental illness) were detained as well.
The police tried to trick and threaten them to get so-called "confessions." For example, the police asked them, “Do you have a printer?" When they denied it, the officers grilled them with further questions: "No? We know you have a printer in your home. Tell me whether you have printer or not. If you have it, where is it now? Where did it go?”
Ms. Li's Prior Arrests and Persecution
Before practicing Falun Gong, Ms. Li suffered from a variety illnesses, including asthma, cholecystitis, and mild hemiplegia. With two young sons and a husband who suffered from mental illness, her life was unsettled. This was especially so at the time when her husband's illness developed, as he ran out of the house day and night. She had to take care of her two children, and at the same time keep track of her husband. After she started practicing Falun Gong in 1995, Ms. Li finally understood the reasons for the hardships in life and she became healthy. Even her husband's condition improved.
Ms. Li has been illegally arrested nine times by the Jingchang City police, and her home has been ransacked multiple times since the persecution began. She was detained in a labor camp for eighteen months, and later sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
Ms. Li has been held in detention centers, drug rehabilitation centers, labor camps and prisons, for a total of seven years, often enduring torture. She has suffered severely both mentally and physically, and her family has also suffered under the tremendous pressure of the persecution. Her nearly blind 80-year-old mother often worries about her and cries. Her elderly father did not get to see Ms. Li before he passed away, as she was incarcerated at the time of his death.
Related article: Ms. Li Dexiang’s Personal Account of the Persecution Ms. Li Dexiang from Gansu Province Facing Trial Prosecutor in Jinchang City Attempt s to Unlawfully Try Ms. Li Dexiang Again
