24th August is Ukraine’s National Independence Day. To celebrate, practitioners from different cities of Ukraine gathered in the capital city of Kiev to share experiences and read the Fa [principles of Falun Dafa] together. They met early in the morning and decided to go to the park in Kiev where local practitioners regularly practice their exercises, to take a group photograph.
The park is near the Presidential palace and because of the Independence Day there was tight security in the city with police squads on the streets checking passers-by. 23 Ukrainian practitioners were stopped by a police squad and asked about the purpose of their assembly. Practitioners used this opportunity to introduce Dafa to the policemen and their superiors, and told them about the persecution in China.
A police officer indicated that the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is being pressurised by the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine to be much tougher on Falun Gong practitioners. The Embassy is using the economic relationship between Ukraine and China as a pressure point. He said that he had no choice but to take the practitioners to the police station to establish their identities and take their statements regarding the purpose of this event.
Practitioners agreed to satisfy the police request and went to the police station where they provided their personal information and made written statements as they were asked.
One of the Kiev practitioners and organisers of the Fa study was asked to see a senior police officer. This police officer told the practitioner that there is an issue of unauthorised assembly and the practitioner had to appear in court on the 27th August in order to face this charge. The practitioner agreed to appear in court but specified that he did not agree with the charge.
On the 27th August the judge found the practitioner not guilty on the charge of unauthorised assembly.
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