(Clearwisdom.net) On March 17, 2008, Mr. Tu Guofan, Shi Lagen, Wang Qingyun, Li Liefeng, Wu Laiting, Tao Fu, and Li Chunfeng were put through an illegal trial by the Xihu District Court of Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. The practitioners had already been detained for one year. During that period they were put through the so-called "check" by the political security squad of Xihu District, the Xihu District Procuratorate, the Xihu District court, and the intermediate court of Xihu District, under different excuses. The Falun Gong practitioners had no way to hire lawyers to represent them in court. Even when they did find a lawyer, the lawyer would refuse to attend the trial because of pressure from the judicature department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
During the trial, each of the Falun Gong practitioners said that the police illegally arrested them and ransacked their homes without showing any warrants. When the police entered, they only demanded where their money and identification were, nothing else. No matter how hard the practitioners pleaded their innocence, the CCP agents wouldn't listen and only wanted to sentence them to at least seven years. A person who went to witness the court session couldn't stand the situation anymore and said that Hong Kong is part of China, but Falun Gong practitioners are not being arrested in Hong Kong. The man asked, "Why is it illegal here? Is the law here fair?" The judge heard his comments and ordered the man removed from the courtroom.
Practitioner Shi Lagen said in court, "It is always believed that the reason why a cult is called a cult is because it does bad things like burn, kill, rob, and plunder. Yet Falun Gong teaches people to be good and the practice has spread all over the world. Is there anything like a cult in this? If something is labeled a cult just because CCP does not accept it, and there are so many things in this world that the CCP does not accept. Are they all cults?"
The so-called "presiding judge" of this illegal trial was Chen Minping, who has persecuted many Falun Gong practitioners and handed down heavy sentences. When practitioners clarified the truth to him, he trotted out his "merits" from the CCP for persecuting Falun Gong and said that not one Falun Gong practitioner could escape his palm. He also mocked the fact that he had suffered no retribution at all even after sentencing so many Falun Gong practitioners. The so-called "public prosecutor" was Zhong Xiaoning, the chief prosecutor of the Xihu District Procuratorate. During the trial he refused to listen to the fact that Falun Gong practitioners were tortured cruelly in detention. Instead, he actively persecuted Falun Gong practitioners.
The so-called trial process was extremely unfair. The fact that Falun Gong practitioners' houses were illegally searched and ransacked, as well as the torture they suffered, was totally ignored. The court asked only how many truth clarification materials (which had been labeled "cult materials") Falun Gong practitioners had made. The so-called "evidence" were messages like "Falun Dafa is good" and "Quit CCP and Be Safe," which were posted by Dafa practitioners. Other "incriminating evidence" included Falun Dafa books and truth clarification materials.
When the practitioners mentioned that they were tortured in detention, the presiding judge would shout, "You can only answer 'yes' or 'no.'"
Practitioner Tu Guofan lost everything in the police raids, including a fridge, a TV set, a motorcycle, a bicycle, two cell phones, cash, a laptop, a printer, a paper cutter, and a CD burner, as well as other personal items in his house. They were all taken away by the police. Even cooking supplies were taken away. There is nothing left in his house. Tu Guofan himself was handcuffed and hung up for four days and four nights by the political security squad of Xihu District. He was badly injured due to being beating. He lost consciousness four times and was revived by having cold water dumped on him. In the end, his handcuffs broke. His hands were still numb and couldn't feel anything even one year after he was tortured. Mr. Tu also lost much of his hearing. The Falun Gong practitioners all suffered torture in one way or another.
Falun Gong practitioner Li Chunfeng mentioned several times that her sister Li Liefeng only went to bring her some clothes and was not involved in making truth-clarification materials, but no one paid attention to what she said in court. She was also robbed of 5,000 yuan. Nobody paid attention to that, either. Her household possessions, including oil, rice, gas tank, stove, food, and many other things were all taken away, just like those of the other practitioners. The police did not produce a warrant until after they searched her house.
Practitioner Wu Laiting's wrists were handcuffed behind his back and he was shocked with two electric batons by seven policemen. He was also beaten. Parts of his body turned black due to the electric shocks. His back was severely injured, and he is still unable to stand up easily.
Practitioner Tao Fu said he stayed at Tu Guofan's house to heal. His ankle had been smashed and broken. When he was arrested, he was carried to the political security squad, where he was tortured. Policemen stepped on his ankle and ground it into the floor with their feet, saying wickedly, "Why didn't you die? You didn't die, so I will now make you paralyzed." They used this method to force him to "confess" that he participated in making truth-clarification materials in Tu Guofan's home. As the torture continued, Mr. Tao couldn't bear the pain and said that he had made 8,000 copies of the materials. People from the political and security squad noted it down and used it as an "evidence" in court. Tao Fu's feet were already broken before being tortured by the police. Later, he was sent to the hospital at a forced labor camp for treatment. He stayed there for six months. His records at the hospital can be traced.
Tao Fu said in court that he saw with his own eyes that when people from the state security squad beat practitioner Wang Qingyun, he heard them shouting loudly. Tao Fu also indicated with his hands how Wang Qingyun's head was so swollen that even a man's hands couldn't hold it. But the presiding judge stopped him from saying anything more and only ordered the next person to answer.
People working for the Xihu District Court said they accepted the judgments from the Intermediate Court of Nanchang City. The decision to sentence the practitioners had already been made at the intermediate court level. The Xihu District Court merely held the trial for show.
March 22, 2008
