(Minghui.org) Ms. Liu Huiyun was tried for the fourth time on May 22, 2014. by the Shunping County Court. This was a case that had been returned by the Intermediate Court due to questionable evidence, after her appeal against an illegal judgment by the same court at the last trial.
Ms. Liu had been detained for two years after she was illegally arrested in 2012.
Unreasonable Testimony
At previous trials, the prosecutor claimed that police officer Zhao Nan confiscated Falun Gong materials from Ms. Liu's home two years ago when she was arrested. According to the prosecutor, Zhao couldn't remember how many copies of materials were taken, and he said that all the materials had been burned.
During the trial officer Zhao, who was directly involved in the persecution, was present in the courtroom as a witness, which is actually prohibited by Chinese law.
Without providing any documented evidence from the police, Zhao stated that he remembered clearly how many copies of Falun Gong related materials he confiscated from Ms. Liu's home.
Non-existing Witnesses
Listed as witnesses by the prosecutor in the previous three trials, the village security officer Xue Yubing and two villagers, Zhao Nan and Shi Yulong, denied they had ever provided any information to the police or the prosecutor.
Only Her Children Allowed to Attend the Trial
Since it was announced as a public trial, many of Ms. Liu's family members went to the court on the day of the trial. However, the court officials only allowed Ms. Liu's son and daughter to enter the courtroom, and all the other family members had to wait outside the court for the entire trial.
Ms. Liu's brother used his connections and found himself a seat.
Before they even went in, all the seats were filled. The first three rows were blocked off, and only the seats from the fourth row were open. All three family members were seated far away from each other by the court official.
Most of the spectators used their cellphones, and the court staff handed out water to them. When the trial didn't finish by noon, they took shifts to have lunch.
Previous Three Trials
Ms. Liu, who is from Shunping County, Baoding City, was arrested when she distributed brochures explaining the facts about Falun Gong on May 19, 2012. She has been held in the Baoding Detention Center since May 25, 2012.
At the end of 2012, officials of the Shunping County Court tried Ms. Liu secretly in the detention center without notifying her family. During the first trial she insisted that she was innocent and had a right to freedom of belief. The trial ended without a verdict.
She then was tried twice in May 2013 and received an unlawful judgment. She appealed the judgment at the Baoding City Intermediate Court.
The Baoding City Intermediate Court returned the case to the Shunping County Court due to questionable evidence. Ms. Liu didn't getreceive a decision notice from the intermediate court until February 26, 2014.
The lawyer received the Shunping County Court's notification in the middle of May that a fourth trial was scheduled to be held on May 22, 2014.
Earlier report:Court's Unlawful Judgment Returned, Attorney Manhandled
Related article in Chinese only: http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2014/5/18/河北顺平县法院欲四审刘慧云-“证人”不承认作证-292303.html
