(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Guan Shuli and Ms. Feng Xue were tried in the Daoli District Court on July 2, 2014, after having been detained for over seven months.
Two attorneys pleaded “not guilty” on behalf of the practitioners and told the court that it is not unlawful to practice Falun Gong or to say “Falun Gong is good.”
Prosecutor Wei Hongzhi from the Daoli Procuratorate threatened the attorneys. The proceedings were adjourned without the judge having made a decision.
Prosecutors' Opinions Not Based on Chinese Law
During the hearing, the attorneys informed the court that the practitioners were not guilty of any crime for practicing Falun Gong. They also said that the practitioners had the right to tell people that Falun Gong is good.
The prosecutor and the attorneys read out the Chinese characters written on currency bills to the spectators: “Falun Gong is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good. The Chinese Communist Party is destined to be destroyed by heaven. To quit the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] is to secure a safe future.”
Prosecutor Wei Hongzhi slandered Falun Gong based on a notice put out by the Chinese court system and internal CCP documents, none of which were legal statutes. One of the attorneys pointed out, “None of what you have claimed and presented is based on existing Chinese law.”
Wei's face turned red and he publicly threatened the attorneys. He interrupted the attorneys' defense many times and demanded that the judge stop them from presenting their case.
Practitioners' Defense
Although Ms. Guan Shuli suffered from abdominal pain due to long term torture while in detention, she still managed to take the stand and profess her innocence. Ms. Feng Xue spoke of how she benefited from practicing Falun Gong.
Strict Body Search Before the Trial
The practitioners' family members who wanted to enter the courtroom were required to show their identification cards and then were subjected to a strict body search. Cell phones and metal objects were not allowed inside the courtroom.
The courtroom was quite large and could possibly seat around 100 people, but there were many empty seats. Five family members noticed that those sitting in seats reserved for observers were not related to either of the practitioners and speculated that they were planted by the authorities.
The hearing commenced at 9:00 a.m. and lasted nearly four hours. In the end, judge Gao slandered Falun Gong and stopped the proceedings.
