On the morning of October 30, 2008, the Jixi City Jiguan Area Court in Heilongjiang Province held a trial for Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Liu Jinglu and his wife, Ms. Sun Lixiang. During the trial, Ms. Sun accused the police of forcing her to "confess" by means of physical torture. The public prosecutor asked that the court adjourn to further investigate her claim.

Mr. Liu Jinglu and His Wife Expose Tortures by Police to Extract a Confession

Before the trial began at around 9:00 a.m. that morning, the police asked to check Ms. Sun's lawyer's bag. When the lawyer asked why, the police replied, "We heard that someone wanted to record the proceedings."

The lawyer told them that it was illegal to search him, "Those are my personal items. You don't have a right to do a security check on a lawyer."

The police officer then abandoned the security check. Just then, the taxi driver that had driven the lawyer to the court called the courthouse, saying that he wanted to deliver the lawyer's briefcase that had been left in the trunk. The police said, "Bring it directly to our office."

They then searched his briefcase. When the lawyer saw them doing this without his permission, he asked why they were searching his personal items. The police replied that they were searching for explosives.

When the police car arrived at the court, Mr. Liu's family wanted to get in to attend the hearing. One policeman attempted to beat them with an electric baton. The family asked, "Why are people from the 610 Office allowed to go in but not us? What are the 610 Office staff doing here?"

Liu Jinglu's sister cried so hard that she fainted. The police nearby pretended nothing was happening. Her family called her name and tried to rouse her up for a long time before she finally regained consciousness. The family were given only two tickets for the hearing. Most of them were not allowed to go in even after they repeatedly requested access. However, the 610 Office staff could go in and out at will. They simply said to the police, "We are from the 610 Office."

When Sun Lixiang's mother saw her skinny daughter and son-in-law get out of the police car, she fainted and fell to the ground. This incident attracted many onlookers. After they learned that the court was persecuting Falun Gong, they were very angry.

During the trial, Ms. Sun's lawyer asked her, "I saw that in the first part of your written record you didn't answer any of their questions. But in the later part, you did answer their questions. Why was that?" Sun Lixiang said, "I did not want to answer initially because I wanted to see whether the judge was neutral and honest. Only after I confirmed that, did I want to answer."

One of the judges said, "It is your right for you to decide whether to answer the questions. But we are certainly neutral and honest."

Ms. Sun was pale and weak, but she told everyone about her ordeal, "They beat me for an entire night. They told me that if I didn't follow their orders, they would torture my husband and children."

As she was talkiing, someone repeatedly attempted to change the subject to prevent her from continuing. Her lawyer asked that they not interrupt her. A Chinese Communist Party (CCP) staff member said again, "This is a very special case. We cannot let her say whatever she wants. Otherwise the impact will not be good."

Her lawyer said, "You do things according to the law, but we also need to find out the truth."

The public prosecutor suggested that they end the session because they needed to further investigate the accusation. At around 10:10 a.m., the court announced a recess.

Mr. Liu Jinglu and his wife, Ms. Sun Lixiang, from Mishan City started practicing Falun Gong in 1998. Their health improved and they became more compassionate. Thirteen years ago, Mr. Liu went to work in Russia, and eventually he owned his business and returned to China in May 2007. On the evening of June 2, 2008, he was arrested by CCP police. Ms. Sun's office supply store was ransacked and items were confiscated by the Mishan City Domestic Security Team, Jixi City Domestic Security Team, and Jixi City 610 Office. The losses amounted to over 300,000 yuan. They are currently being held in the First Detention Center of Jixi City, leaving their six-and-a-half-year-old son at home.