(Minghui.org) An unlawful trial was held at Panzhihua East District Court in the morning of May 14, 2014 against Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Jin Xiaorong, the former vice president of the Labor Union in the Panzhihua Municipal Water Company.
Ms. Jin was charged with “spreading Falun Gong information through the internet, downloading articles from overseas Falun Gong website and printing Falun Gong materials.”
One of Ms. Jin's two attorneys stated that Ms. Jin's case belongs to the category of belief and the court has no jurisdiction over an issue of belief.
The attorney also pointed out the fact that Falun Gong has always been legal in China and the spreading of Falun Gong information is an act of freedom of speech, which is protected by the Constitution.
The attorney said, “No matter whether or not Ms. Jin did the things the procurator accused her of doing, her action doesn't constitute a crime.”
The attorneys also demanded the immediate release of Ms. Jin.
The trial lasted until the afternoon and no judgment was announced.
Requesting Removal of Procurator and Judge
At the beginning of the trial, the attorneys asked for removal of the procurator and judge on grounds that Ms. Jin's case belongs to the category of belief.
They stated that the procurator, given his profession, must understand that practicing Falun Gong doesn't constitute a crime and doesn't violate existing Chinese law. Given the aforementioned, the prosecution itself is an act of crime. Therefore, the prosecutor no longer qualified as a public procurator and should be removed.
Furthermore, the court held the trial, knowing that the court has no jurisdiction over a case that concerns a belief system, thus the judge cannot hold a fair trial. For this reason the judge should be removed from the bench for this trial.
The procurator and judge were speechless upon hearing the attorney's request. However the chief justice allowed the trial to go forward.
In response, the attorneys said, “According to Article 30 of the Criminal Procedure Law, the withdrawal of a judge, procurator and investigator shall be determined by the president of the court, the chief procurator, and the head of a public security organ. If a decision has been made to reject a removal application, the party or his legal representative may apply for reconsideration.”
The attorneys continued, “However, when we made the application for withdrawal, the chief justice made the decision to reject the withdrawal request by himself and failed to tell the defense team about their right to apply for reconsideration.”
At this time the chief justice called a recess.
Defending the Right of Belief
During the adjournment, a policeman, whispered to the judges. On resuming the trial, the judges' attitudes suddenly became very rude.
When the procurator listed the so-called materials to back up their accusation, the judge, despite the attorneys' objection allowed the procurator to keep talking, while he constantly interrupted the attorneys' defense.
Despite the interference, the attorneys made their defense based on existing law, pointing out the fact that Falun Gong has always been legal in China and the spreading of Falun Gong information is an act of freedom of speech, which is protected by the Constitution.
The attorneys said, “No matter whether or not Ms. Jin did the things the procurator accused her of doing, her action doesn't constitute a crime.”
They also stated, “Her case was initially investigated by the Panzhihua City State Security Bureau as a suspect of 'inciting subversion of state power', and then changed to 'using a heretical organization to undermine the implementation of law' after investigation. However, there's no evidence in her case to back up these accusations.
The attorneys said that the trial should be dismissed as the procedure of this trial violates existing law.”
At the conclusion of their defense, the two attorneys expressed the hope that the court judges would let their conscience reign and declare Ms. Jin's innocence. They demanded her immediate release.
