Six Falun Gong Practitioners Defend Themselves in Court against Unjust Prosecution

Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Wang Bumei, Ms. Zhou Yingxia, Mr. Lin Kaiqiang, Mr. Ma Jun, Ms. Yang Jiqin, and Mr. Zhou Zhenmin of Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province have been detained by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for over six months. They were brought to court and tried on June 25th and July 8th, 2010, at the Tinghu District Court in Yancheng City. The six practitioners with their lawyers pleaded not guilty.

The CCP has never obeyed the law when prosecuting Falun Gong practitioners. The courts are controlled by the CCP, and the courtroom hearings of Falun Gong practitioners are only a formality to deceive the public and the international press. Even though Chinese courtrooms occasionally allow lawyers to speak on behalf the defendants, the sentences have already been decided, influenced by the Political Affairs Committee and the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong). The intention of Falun Gong practitioners and their lawyers is to help people in the courtroom and in society see that the CCP's prosecution of Falun Gong is completely unlawful.

Between September and October, 2009, the 610 Office in Yancheng City arrested more than ten Falun Gong practitioners, including Mr. Wang Bumei, Mr. Li Kaiqiang, Ms. Zhou Yingxia, Zhu Fengfeng, Zhu Qunqun, and others. Among them, Mr. Wang Bumei, Mr. Lin Kaiqiang, Ms. Zhao Yingxia, and Ms. Yang Jiqin were detained and abused at the Yancheng Detention Centre. Mr. Zhou Zhenmin posted bail in October 2009, and was sent to a brainwashing centre last May.

Since the CCP started to persecute Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, Mr. Wang Bumei and other Falun Gong practitioners, all of whom follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, continued to inform people about the true nature of Falun Gong. Among them, Mr. Wang, Mr. Lin Kaiqiang and Ma Jun were sentenced to several years in prison.

The Yancheng City 610 Office brought Mr. Wang Bumei and five other Falun Gong practitioners to the Tinghu Court in Yancheng City on June 25th, after planning it for a long time. Mr. Wang and Ms. Yang Jiqin 's families hired three lawyers from Beijing to plead not guilty. On the morning and afternoon of that day, the CCP prosecutor used falsified evidence in his case against the six Falun Gong practitioners and made up accusations. Using time restraint as an excuse, the judge declared a recess. The case went to court again on the afternoon of July 8th. In court, the lawyers used the law to effectively deny the prosecutor's accusations, and argued in favour of the defendants. The Falun Gong practitioners also defended themselves from different angles.

The lawyer said that line thirty-five of chapter two in the "People's Republic of China" (China's constitution) states, "The People's Republic of China citizens have the freedom to speak, publish, gather, form groups, parade and go on strike." Line thirty-six states, "The People's Republic of China's citizens have religious freedom." In the constitution, there is not a single line that indicates citizens would not be allowed to practise Falun Gong.

The lawyer also said that having one's own beliefs is the basic right of every citizen, that belief is a thought, and thoughts cannot constitute a crime. Practitioners believe in Falun Gong, and talking about Falun Gong and handing out informational materials is not a crime, and the lawyer urged the court to release them.

Mr. Wang Bumei said that he believes in Falun Gong, and he did what he should do according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, that he did not or would not hurt anyone. He said that the purpose of everything he did was in the hopes that everyone would have a good future.

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Lin Kaiqiang said in his defence that first of all, he wanted to thank Falun Gong's founder Li Hongzhi for giving Falun Gong to the world, and for giving so many people the benefits of it. Falun Gong improves people's morality and over one hundred countries have recognised and protected it. He said he was very fortunate to practise Falun Gong, and that he hopes there will be more people who benefit from it.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhou Yingxia said in her defence that Falun Gong practitioners explain the facts according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

The effective defence presented by the Falun Gong practitioners and their lawyers made the prosecutors very reactive, and exposed the superficial nature of the "court hearing". The judge even said that he would not accept the lawyers' defence; however, the court did not announce the sentencing, but instead called a recess.

Falun Gong practitioners are good people who practise Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, they are good for society, and they have committed no crimes. In contrast, they should be rewarded.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/7/19/227187.html