Police Beat Ms. Zhao Qunlan and Arrested Practitioners Who Attended Her Trial in Yueyang City Court

Name: Zhao Qunlan
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Address: Unknown
Most recent place of detention: Yueyang City No. 1 Detention Centre
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 27th, 2009
District: Junshan District
City: Yueyang
Province: Hunan

At 9:00 a.m. on August 4th, the Junshan District Court in Yueyang City held a court session to try practitioner Zhao Qunlan. During the session, the police harassed Ms. Zhao's two lawyers, threatened and arrested practitioners who came to watch the trial, and shocked Ms. Zhao with an electric baton after the trial. The two lawyers pleaded not guilty for Ms. Zhao, and praised Falun Gong practitioners as true heroes.

On the morning of May 27th, 2009, Junshan City practitioner Zhao Qunlan was arrested on the street in Xiangyin City by national security police officers Shen Wenxin, Deng Hongqiu, and Cai Hongchun from the Junshan District Police Branch Department, and national security police officer Li Xi from Xiangyin. She was held in the Yueyang City No. 1 Detention Centre with no family visitation permitted.

The police harass the lawyers

At 7:40 a.m. on August 4th, Jin Guanghong and Zhang Chuanli, the two attorneys that Ms. Zhao's family hired for her from Beijing, came to the court. When they took a picture as a memento, three police officers approached. One of them said that no photos were allowed while the other two approached and grabbed the attorneys' mobile phones. Attorney Zhang said, "What you are doing is against the law. I want to speak with your supervisor." One of the officers retorted, "There is no use whomever you talk to," and left with the the camera.

The police threaten and arrest court visitors

The sign outside the court said that people were welcome to sit in on the session. Some non-practitioners, as well as Ms. Zhao's family members and some practitioners went into the courtroom. Over ten officers, among them national security police officers Shen Wenxing, Cai Dechun, Xiang Yuehua, Deng Hongqiu, and Peng Changhua, from the Junshan District Police Department, and the police station chief Li Qiliang (who was originally largely responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners) surrounded them. One officer said: "They are all Falun Gong practitioners. Arrest them!" Then they took a picture of everyone, and called the local police bureau for each individual and ask them to come to identify them. Then, a dozen or so plain clothes police officers entered the courtroom.

One of the practitioners, Ms. Li Nianchun, from Junshan District was over seventy years old. She was explaining the facts about Falun Gong to the plain clothes police. The police pushed Ms. Li into the police car and lied, saying that they were driving her home, but they ended up taking her to the Hubing Jail and held her there. They also dismissed everyone attempting to watch the hearing and forced all the practitioners completely out of the courtroom.

The lawyers defend the practitioners

During the session, the court only allowed four family members and the two attorneys to be present. The rest of the people in the court were all from the government, prosecution, justice department, or the police. Ms. Zhao was brought into the court with her hands cuffed behind her back. She wanted to defend herself, but was denied by the court. The two attorneys entered a plea of not guilt for her, and strongly praised Falun Gong practitioners as the true "heroes of mankind." Prosecutor Li Jie twice cut the attorneys' speeches off. At the end, Judge Wang Meng called the session to recess by declaring: "I will not issue my real sentence today. Let's find another date and do it then."

The police beat Ms. Zhao

Immediately after the session, the police handcuffed Ms. Zhao and she yelled: "Falun Gong is good!" The court marshal hit her head with the electrical baton, and thrust the baton into her mouth. When her family members tried to talk to her, they stopped them, and pushed her sister-in-law out of the courtroom.

Nearing the end of the court session, the plain clothes police began arresting practitioners. One male practitioner in his fifties was handcuffed and driven away by police. The five Junshan District practitioners that came to sit in on the session were all taken away by the national security police from that district.

Participants directly responsible for the persecution:
National Security Squadron of Junshan District Police Department: Shen Wenxin. 86-13787301771 (Mobile), tel: 86-730-8927463, 86-730-8178812
National Security Squadron of Junshan District Police Department: Cai Dechun: 86-13707404868 (Mobile), 86-13873032456 (Mobile),
National Security Squadron of Junshan District Police Department: Jiang Qiaojun, 86-13873083656 (Mobile),
Director, Junshan Justice Bureau: Yuan Chunhua, 86-13762028324 (Mobile),
Mayor of Junshun Town: Zhang Xiwen 86-13874098273 (Mobile),
Director, Junshan District "610 Office", Peng Changhua
Deputy Director, Junshan District 610 Office, Deng Hongqiu
Junshan District prosecutor: Tel 86-730-8151989
Junshan District Court: Wang Meng, post code 414205
Security Director of Chaoyang Area Neighbourhood in Junshan District, Yan Dingji

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/8/11/206285.html