The Wuhou District Court in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, tried seven practitioners on August 26th. Mr. Gu Huaibing was sentenced to seven years in prison; Mr. Zhou Yaping, two years and four months; Mr. Liao Jianfu, two and a half years; Mr. Zhao Haiping, Mr. Wang Hongbo, Mr. Wang Jianguo, and Ms. Li Xiaoyan were sentenced to three years in prison. The seven practitioners stated that practising Falun Gong is not a crime. They declared their intention to appeal to a higher court.
The trial started at 9:00 a.m. and ended a little after 8:00 p.m. The seven practitioners stated that they were interrogated with physical punishment. Their attorney reasonably refuted and disproved all the evidence provided by the prosecutor and exposed the false evidence fabricated by the police. However, judge Huang Yi sentenced them regardless.
At a little past 9:00 p.m. on July 21st, 2009, officers from the Tiaosanta Police Station broke into a shop in Chengdu Computer City and arrested five employees, Mr. Gu Huaibing, Mr. Liao Jianfu, Mr. Zhao Haiping, Mr. Zhou Yaping, and Mr. Wang Hongbo. Two former employees of the company, Ms. Li Xiaoyan and her husband Mr. Wang Jianguo, were later arrested in succession.
Police Officers and Plainclothes Officers Were Everywhere Inside and Outside the Courthouse
On August 25th, the day before the court session, the police installed monitoring devices to videotape the pedestrian traffic on the street outside the Wuhou District Court. On August 26th, the trial day, the police officers and plainclothes officers were everywhere inside and outside the courthouse. Two police cars full of officers were parked outside the courthouse. The plainclothes officers even went into the nearby teahouse, checking if there were any Falun Gong practitioners. Some 610 Office personnel (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) also went to the courthouse or stayed outside. It was highly likely that they were looking for Falun Gong practitioners under their jurisdiction.
Family Not Allowed to Attend “Public Trial”
The Wuhou District Court claimed this to be a public trial; however, they only allowed one family member of each practitioner inside the courtroom. According to a family member, there were only seven family members in the courtroom and others at the hearing were arranged by the court.
Many family members didn't get to attend the trial, including Mr. Gu's father and son. About eight family members of Mr. Gu wanted to attend the trial, but to no avail. Only Mr. Gu's wife got to attend. She hoped her son could see his father.
Judge Huang Yi's Unlawful Behaviour
The attorneys of the practitioners pointed out that the process severely violates the law, such as two years of extended detention. Several practitioners also mentioned that the officers from the Tiaosanta Police Station didn't show any legal documents or identification cards while performing the arrests.
According to our information sources, judge Huang Yi went to the detention centre and tried to convince the practitioners into accepting shorter prison terms. He tried to coerce the practitioners to plead guilty, intimidating and trying to bribe them. He also tried to convince them to fire the lawyers their families had hired and allow the court to appoint [no doubt corrupt Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-loyal] attorneys for them.
The court didn't notify the attorneys about this court session. Ms. Li Xiaoyan's attorney, who was hired by her family at the beginning of last year, learned about the trial from Ms. Li's family the day before the trial. He called the court and the court told him that they had appointed another attorney for Ms. Li. He was shocked and went to the court with Ms. Li's family. Judge Huang Yi had little choice but to grant a request to allow the attorney to see his client. The judge also asked for the family to not be present and talked with the attorney in private.
During the court session, practitioner Mr. Wang Jianguo refused the attorney who was appointed by the court. He pleaded not guilty and was going to defend himself.
Practitioners Tortured and Interrogated
During the court cross-examination, almost all practitioners stated that they were interrogated by means of torture. Mr. Gu Huaibing told the court that he and Mr. Liao Jianfu were taken to a location somewhere in Cuqiao two weeks following his arrest, on August 4th. He was detained in the second building, while Liao was in the first. The first day there, Mr. Gu was tied to a metal window. The "investigating officer" Wang Pengfei and Wang Li didn't allow him to sleep. They poured water on him and jabbed him with a stick to keep him awake. The second day, Mr. Gu was tied to the window again and punched in the chest. He was told that the beating was "compliments of" the national dictatorship. The whole process lasted four days, from August 4th through to August 7th, 2009. Mr. Liao Jianfu, Mr. Wang Jianguo and other practitioners also described the tortures they suffered. The officer who interrogated Mr. Wang Jianguo told him, “We prepared more than twenty varieties of torture methods for you!”
Attorney Proved the Prosecution's Evidence to be False
The attorney proved the prosecution's evidence to be false from a professional viewpoint. For example: The arrests occurred on the evening of July 21st, but the search list was dated July 8th. This means that the search list was prepared before the case was even established, which proved that the case itself and all the evidence was fabricated.
The attorney requested the court to cross-examine the so-called evidence and to play the DVD which was regarded as evidence. The court didn't follow the normal procedure to play it on the big screen. Instead, they only played it on a laptop computer. Only a few people got to watch it. According to our information sources, the DVD didn't work at all.
This indicates that there was no evidence or facts to support the accusations against Mr. Gu Huaibing and other practitioners. Without any evidence, the accusations have no grounds.
Practitioners and Attorneys: Practising Falun Gong is Legal!
Almost all the practitioners denied the accusations the police made and said that the oral evidence was the result of torture.
Mr. Liao Jianfu, who was imprisoned for eight years, was arrested on the first day of work. He defended himself in an upright manner. He said it is not a crime to practise Falun Gong and requested to be acquitted of all charges immediately.
The attorney also pointed out that practising Falun Gong is legitimate in China and Article 300 of the criminal law cannot be applied to Falun Gong practitioners.
Judge Huang Yi kept interrupting the attorneys' speeches. One was interrupted more than ten times. After each interruption, the attorney would change to a new perspective to defend the case. One judge said to the attorneys, “You are all top notch attorneys!”
Mr. Gu and other practitioners stated that they were innocent and were going to appeal to a higher court.
Below are some of the people involved in the persecution:
Huang Yi, trial judge: +86-28-85118193
Qi Peijia, court reporter: +86-28-85118203
Yu Jiachuan, president of Wuhou District Court: +86-28-82006333, +86-13540284886 (Mobile)
Wuhou District Police Sub-Bureau: +86-28-86406628
Tiaosanta Police Station: +86-28-85222200
Wuhou District Political and Judiciary Committee: +86-28-85558685
Related report:
Several Employees of Chengdu Computer City Detained for Eighteen Months (Photo)
http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/1/13/122462.html
Mr. Gu Huaibing from Chengdu Was Persecuted by Wang Pengfei (Photo)
http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/1/14/113897.html
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/9/4/246230.html
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