(Minghui.org) A higher court in Jilin City, Jilin Province recently overturned a trial court’s guilty verdict against a local Falun Gong practitioner and ordered a new trial.
Mr. Bai He was arrested on July 23, 2015 for filing a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin and holding the former Chinese dictator responsible for ordering the persecution of Falun Gong that resulted in his past detentions.
The local Fengman District Court tried Mr. Bai on June 1, 2016 without informing his family or lawyer. He was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison two months later.
Mr. Bai soon filed an appeal to the Jilin City Intermediate Court, and was later interviewed at the detention center by someone from the higher court. The interviewer asked if Mr. Bai testified in his own defense during the initial trial, and he replied that the trial court didn’t inform his lawyer of the hearing.
Upon learning of what happened, Mr. Bai’s lawyer called the higher court to inquire about the status of the appeal. He was told that the court had issued a decision on November 14 to overturn the original verdict and to order a new trial.
Tao Yingang, a vice president of Fengman District Court, is now in charge of the case. Mr. Bai’s mother tried several times, without success, to schedule a meeting with Tao.
Mr. Bai’s lawyer is calling for the lower court to acquit his client in the new trial, as no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong.
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