(Minghui.org) Over its fifteen-year-long persecution of Falun Gong, the Chinese Communist regime has become well-practiced in holding show trials to sentence Falun Gong practitioners to prisons using the Party-controlled judicial system.
Such a show trial recently took place at Huanan County Forest Bureau Court in Heilongjiang Province, and all four practitioners tried were arrested while distributing literature to raise awareness of the persecution.
People gathered outside the courthouse
During the four-hour trial on August 8, the judges frequently interrupted the three defense lawyers while allowing the prosecutor to deliver Communist Party rhetoric used to incite hatred against Falun Gong. He repeatedly referred to the practice as a “cult” and accused the practitioners of “raping women, fighting, poisoning others, and promoting suicide.” Engrossed in his rant, the prosecutor appeared to forget that the defendants in this show trial were female.
At this point, even the chief judge found it difficult to continue and stopped the prosecutor.
The criminal court director, Ji Yingchun, ordered, “Delete the video recording immediately. This is an embarrassment.”
One of the defense lawyers added, “This will become a laughingstock all over town.”
Family and Other Practitioners Denied Admittance to Hearing
The morning of the trial, uniformed and plainclothes police stood outside the Forestry Bureau Court in Huanan County. Many people, including Falun Gong practitioners, went to attend the meeting but were denied entry by police.
Among the four practitioners' families, officials issued only nine permits for attending the hearing. One practitioner's mother, in her seventies, had not seen her daughter in more than four months and pleaded with officers for entry. Police denied her request and emphasized that Falun Gong practitioners were not allowed to attend the hearing.
Falsified Witness Testimony
Practitioner Zhang Fenghua's husband, Li Yanbo, ran downstairs to express outrage to the court's vice president immediately after the prosecutor named him as a witness during the trial. He questioned, “When did I become a witness? I only said that my wife practices Falun Gong.”
Perpetrators from Huanan Forestry Bureau Court:President: Liang Huahai (梁华海) , 86-18945446001Vice President: Guo Yunxiang (郭云祥) , 86-18724271568 / 86-13019758067; Jiang Zhongwei (姜中伟), 86-13846111707; Xiao Liwen (肖立文), 86-13836693727Presiding Judge: Ji Yingchun (纪迎春), 86-13836699991Chief Judge: Ren Yongliang (任永良), 86-13136970967Judge: Yang Zhaoling (杨兆岭), 86-13069922577; Wang Zhanwu (王占武), 86-13836698007
