The Truth Halts an Unjust Trial

On December 2nd, 2009, the Helong City Court in Yanbianzhou, Jilin Province, tried Ms. Li Fengyun, a Falun Gong practitioner from Yanji City. Ms. Li's lawyer presented a strong defence, so the judge had to adjourn the trial hastily. When the defence lawyer asked Ms. Li to identify the person who persecuted her, the person was afraid to look Ms. Li in the eye.

The trial began at 9:00 a.m. on December 2nd. People began gathering in front of the Helong City Courthouse well before the doors opened, to participate in this public trial. Over the ten years of persecution, few lawyers have been brave enough to defend Falun Gong practitioners in court. Ms. Li's case was the first one in this area, so it attracted many people.

On the day of the trial, the Helong City Court, the police, and the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) arranged for people to wear red armbands and guard the court entrance to prevent others from getting too close. These guards took pictures of those who stood in front of the courthouse gate. It seemed that the authorities wanted to punish anyone who came to the trial. Many plainclothes police mingled in the crowd and monitored the activities. Although Ms. Li's was billed as a public trial, the authorities only allowed ten people to attend. Three Falun Gong practitioners who wanted to attend the trial were turned away.

The Helong City Court was in panic about having a lawyer publicly defend a Falun Gong practitioner. Before the trial began, the presiding judge unreasonably demanded that the defence not make any statements on the quality of Falun Gong. The prosecutor, however, openly denounced Falun Gong as a cult in his opening statement.

The defence challenged the prosecutor to provide legal evidence that Falun Gong is a cult. The prosecutor became speechless and bowed his head in silence. The defence lawyer's righteous words overpowered all the government officials present, including the presiding judge, jurors, 610 Office staff, and police officers.

The prosecutor went on to make his case and mentioned the types and amount of leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong that Ms. Li had distributed. The defence lawyer immediately asked the prosecutor to present the Falun Gong material and let the public decide whether its content was illegal. The prosecutor refused, claiming that the materials had been destroyed. The defence stated that the Falun Gong material exposed the government's persecution of Falun Gong. Moreover, Ms. Li did not violate any law by freely distributing these materials, and therefore they could not be used as evidence against her. The prosecutor was once again speechless.

In the defence statement that followed, the lawyer stated, "Ms. Li Fengyun practises Falun Gong. She wants to become healthy and be a good person, which is all good and no harm to society. Ms. Li also tells other people about her belief and about the persecution. Her actions do not violate any law, and she did not obstruct any laws from being carried out. On the contrary, Falun Gong practitioners like Ms. Li follow the principles of Truthfulness-Benevolence- Forbearance, and want to be good people. They care about and love to help people and contribute to society. Ms. Li Fengyun is innocent and should be released immediately."

Ms. Li also defended herself. She said she was innocent and that those who persecute Falun Gong practitioners are the real criminals. She also revealed that police officers from the National Security Team of Helong City had tortured her.

At that moment, the defence lawyer asked Ms. Li to identify the officers who had tortured her. This righteous action frightened the police officers and 610 Office personnel present. Officers who had tortured Ms. Li tried to avoid her gaze and were afraid of being recognised in court.

Falun Gong practitioners' righteous words and the defence lawyer's eloquent statements convinced most people at the trial, including the law enforcement personnel, that practising Falun Gong is not a crime and that the persecutors are the real criminals.

The entire trial lasted two and a half hours. Before the trial, the law enforcement officers were grim faced. After hearing about the truth of Falun Gong, some of them smiled. Finally, the judge had to adjourn the trial.

This defence lawyer successfully represented Ms. Li and helped many people learn the truth about Falun Gong through this trial. When the trial ended, several people came to enthusiastically shake hands with the lawyer. A number of people at the trial later found Falun Gong practitioners to declare their desire to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/12/26/215079.html