(Minghui.org) Spring was upon us in mid-March but the sky was grey and the wind chilling, a reflection of the emotions of the three Falun Gong practitioners in my region facing an unlawful trial for their faith. The court hearing had been postponed five times in the past 18 months as the practitioners continued to sit in the local detention center. On the morning of the scheduled court date, the practitioners’ families and lawyers were told once again that it was postponed to two o’clock in the afternoon.
When the families and friends saw the three practitioners in court that afternoon, they were amazed by what they saw. After 563 days of incarceration, the practitioners had lost some weight but seemed high-spirited and at ease. One of the practitioners shared a cell with 34 other detainees, who all had scabies because of the poor hygiene in the detention center. The practitioner was the only one who did not have scabies.
The chief judge was also the deputy president of the court. He had no choice but to take the case because no one else would. The judge before him recused himself after the practitioners’ families explained to him why the persecution was wrong. The case was then transferred to a different jurisdiction, and still no one would take it.
The chief judge once believed that the practitioners were guilty and deserved to be locked up. He was confident that someone would eventually take the case before it made a full circle and came back to him. When the practitioners’ families handed him Falun Gong information materials and told him about the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party, he had a change of mind. During the trial, he quietly listened to the defense lawyers argue and signaled for them to continue when the prosecutor interrupted.
The same thing happened to the previous judge. He was also rude and determined that the practitioners were guilty at first. When the practitioners’ families visited him, he wouldn’t let them talk and threatened the lawyers. His attitude turned around completely when he learned the facts of the persecution. He became polite and warm to the families. Not only did he recuse himself from the case, but he also suggested his colleagues not to take the case. He helped the lawyers to obtain the power of attorney from the practitioners.
The hearing lasted six hours that day. Everyone in the courtroom listened quietly. The prosecutor seemed reluctant to read the indictment and kept his head down the whole time.
When the hearing was over, the lawyers came out and cheered, “How wonderful!” One of the lawyers noted that his defense statement was long, but he was able to finish reading it without interruption. “This is my most successful hearing,” he said. The entire time the lawyers worked together as one group. When one talked, others would supplement.
The practitioners and lawyers presented facts of the police mishandling the case during the hearing. A lawyer questioned the prosecutor, “Do you have any conscience? The police faked a case with numerous mistakes and illegally gathered evidence, and you let it go to court?” The court clerk documented how the police had violated the laws when investigating the case and how the prosecutor illegally indicted and prosecuted the practitioners.
Practitioners in the courtroom saw that, toward the end of the hearing, the positive energy from the practitioners’ righteous thoughts merged into a giant golden lotus flower. As the golden lotus flower rotated, the evil energy shrank and disappeared.
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