[Minghui Net] On May 10, 2000, the People's Court of Xishui County, Hubei Province held a hearing on the cases of Falun Gong practitioners Yang Yunhua, Lin Yongjia, and Yang Shurong. There were no vacancies in the public gallery.
Yang Yunhua, male, 48, was arrested by the Public Security Bureau on the charge of "utilizing an XX [curse words omitted] to undermine the fulfillment of the law." The reason, as claimed by public security, was that he practiced the Falun Gong exercises on the county square on December 25, 1999 and was involved in "organizing people."
Lin Yongjia, male, 38, was arrested for "disturbing the social order," because he went to Beijing to appeal in late December 1999.
Yang Shurong, female, 44, was arrested by the Public Security Bureau on the charge of "disturbing the social order," for sharing experiences with other practitioners at her own home.
The cases were tried five months later. Yang Yunhua personally got an attorney. The other two were farmers and could not afford the attorney fees. Two attorneys from the Attorney Assistance Center agreed to defend them for free.
In the court proceedings, the judge stated the so-called "criminal evidence" against the defendants. Then the three attorneys defended them based on the law of the People's Republic of China. Finally they came to a conclusion: all the charges against the three defendants by the Public Security Bureau were untenable; none of the three defendants broke the law. Yang Yunhua did the exercises, but he was not an organizer, so the charge of "organizing people" was groundless. Lin Yongjia, who legally went to Beijing to appeal, was arrested upon his arrival there, so the charge of "disturbing social order" was groundless. Yang Shurong just had a conversation with other people at her home. It was ridiculous to charge her with "disturbing the social order."
The trial lasted for a whole day without any resolution. All three Falun Gong practitioners were found not guilty and therefore should have been released instantly. But under strong pressure from higher up, the judge was not able to announce an impartial judgement. The judge asked the three practitioners, "Will you still practice Falun Gong?" All three practitioners answered, "Yes." Since the judge could not find any items in the law to charge them as guilty, he had to suspend the trial. Afterwards the court referred the cases to higher authorities. Five months later, the defendants were told that they were not guilty and would be released.
However, some police in the Public Security Bureau openly trampled on the law. Not only did they refuse to release the practitioners, but also sent them to labor camps. Yang Yunhua had been detained for one year and three months already.
Lin Yongjia was sent to a labor camp by the Pubic Security Bureau for one-year. There, he was beaten by some inmates during custody on the order of the police. He was tortured until he spat blood and passed blood in his stool. He almost died. The police were afraid of being responsible for his death while in custody, so they released him. When his health recovered after a period of time, a vicious policeman named Li Xunhua detained him again until the full year was up.
Yang Shurong was sent to a labor camp for one-year. She was released only after the one year-custody was complete.
The deeds committed by the Public Security Bureau trampled the law and were a crime against the people.
Dafa practitioners in China
May 7, 2001
