(Minghui.org) A judge of Yongchuan District Court presided over two trials of three local Falun Gong practitioners over the course of two days. None of the practitioners’ family members were allowed to attend the hearings.
Mr. Yao Rongxuan was arrested on April 6, 2017 and tried on January 23, 2018.
Ms. Yu Delan and Ms. Luo Mingyou were arrested on April 15, 2017 and tried together on January 24, 2018.
The three practitioners demanded an acquittal, as no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong, a mind-body practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Judge Xie Hong adjourned the hearings without issuing a verdict.
The practitioners remain at Yongchuan District Detention Center.
Wife Detained While Husband Appeared in Court
Mr. Yao’s hearing was scheduled to begin at 2:20 p.m. His wife, Ms. Xu Xiaoqin, arrived at 2 p.m. to see many people patrolling the courthouse.
Three men grabbed her and pushed her inside a car. They drove her to nearby Yuping Street Committee. She recognized one of the men as the person who followed her in the morning when she visited her husband at the detention center. He said that his name was Yu Haifeng.
A few other people, including You Chunyan, Li Chunhui, Luo Mingquan, Zeng Xianyin, and two young men, kept watch of Ms. Xu at the street committee office. Zeng tried several times, unsuccessfully, to look into Ms. Xu’s bag to find her statement of affidavit in support of her husband.
Ms. Xu wanted to leave, but Zeng stopped her and ripped one of her sleeves during the tussle.
The group of agents kept calling the courthouse. They released Ms. Xu at 4:40 p.m. when they were sure that the court hearing of Mr. Yao had concluded.
Sister and Son Driven Away from Courthouse
Ms. Yu Delan’s older sister, Ms. Yu Dehui, filed a request on July 1, 2017 to testify in her younger sister’s defense. The local procuratorate informed her the following day that she wasn’t allowed to review the case file because she, too, practices Falun Gong.
The case against Ms. Yu Delan and Ms. Luo was twice returned to police, on August 27, and October 12, respectively, but Yongchuan District Police Department managed to persuade the procuratorate to file indictments against the two women on November 12.
The detention center called Ms. Yu Delan’s son on January 17, 2018 to inform him of his mother’s court date. His aunt, Ms. Yu Dehui, called judge Xie Hong five days later, again requesting to serve as her sister’s defender. Xie turned down her request on the grounds that she still practices Falun Gong.
Xie didn’t tell Ms. Yu Dehui that admission tickets would be needed for the trial. She and her nephew went to the courthouse on January 23 and a bailiff asked to see the hearing notice from the court and the admission tickets. They said they only had the notice from the detention center.
The bailiff refused to let them in. He further demanded Ms. Yu Delan’s son take his aunt away because she is a Falun Gong practitioner. The two of them tried to argue with the bailiff, but they were driven away by several police officers.
Judge Xie Hong: +86-17723626865, +86-2349319231, +86-2349519226, +86-2349519292.
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