(Minghui.org) A woman in Pudong District, Shanghai was sentenced to two years in prison for “using a cult to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime in its attempt to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Ms. Yang Jianhua was arrested at work on August 30, 2017. Agents from Changning Police Branch said that someone reported a tip on August 23 that Falun Gong informational materials were discovered in his apartment complex. The police alleged that Ms. Yang was the one who distributed the materials.
Ms. Yang appeared in Changning Court on May 31, 2018. The presiding judge quickly verified her identify and the prosecutor read aloud the indictment equally fast.
Ms. Yang refuted the indictment. She argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that she was exercising her constitutional right when passing out Falun Gong materials.
Ms. Yang's lawyer reminded the judge to have his client seated. The judge appeared in such a rush that he forgot to ask Ms. Yang to be seated after verifying her identity.
The prosecutor alleged that the Falun Gong materials found in that apartment complex were enough to show that she was guilty. Ms. Yang and her lawyer both countered that those materials caused no harm to anyone, much less undermine law enforcement.
The lawyer further argued that the prosecutor has failed to specify which law Ms. Yang had allegedly undermined by passing out Falun Gong materials.
The judge stopped the lawyer, saying the latter wasn't allowed to talk about Falun Gong in this Falun Gong case.
When the lawyer was allowed to talk again, he challenged one other piece of prosecution evidence, which stated that no one but Ms. Yang was seen to have entered or exited that gated apartment complex on August 23. The lawyer questioned how it could be possible when so many people lived there and had to move about every day.
The judge recessed the session for 20 minutes. When the hearing resumed, he announced to sentence Ms. Yang to two years in prison.
Only Ms. Yang's mother and uncle were allowed to attend the trial. The human resource director and legal counsel of Ms. Yang's company also went to the court that day, but they were denied entry. In the meantime, about ten strangers were present at the hearing.
Ms. Yang's family actually called the court on May 24 to ask how many family members would be allowed to attend the trial. The clerk who answered the phone said it was a public trial and anyone with no criminal backgrounds would be welcome. Hours later, the clerk called the family saying only two family members were allowed and warned them to not invite people from Ms. Yang's workplace to attend the trial.
Related Report:Shanghai Falun Gong Practitioner Detained Illegally and Without Outside Contact
