(Minghui.org) Six Falun Gong practitioners were first tried on October 17, 2012, by Chongchuan District Court, Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, and again on January 21, 2013. Three attorneys pled not-guilty on their behalf. The practitioners were Ms. Shan Hanru, Ms. Wang Lei, Ms. Zhang Jufang, Mr. Wang Hanlin, Ms. Cai Mingfang, and Mr. Ji Jian.
The trial
The dozens of seats for spectators in the courtroom were all taken by communist officials, who were assigned to attend. The general public and the practitioners' relatives had to stand to the side during the proceedings.
At around 9 a.m., the practitioners' sentences were announced: Ms. Shan Hanru was sentenced to eight years, and Ms. Wang Lei and Ms. Zhang Jufang both to seven years.
In the afternoon, three attorneys made a defense for the practitioners. They said that the Constitution clearly states that an individual's freedom of belief is protected, and that it is illegal for the police to arrest Falun Gong practitioners and detain them.
Arrested and tortured
Mr. Wang Hanlin was arrested in June 2012. He stated at the trial that he was arrested as he was returning home after a night shift. He was detained in a hotel, where he was hung up, beaten, and interrogated by the police.
Ms. Zhang Jufang was arrested on the morning of June 12, 2012, after she took her grandson to kindergarten. The police took her house key and ransacked her home at around 9 a.m. They confiscated her computer, printer, DVD burner, MP3 player, and Falun Gong books. Ms. Zhang said that she was tortured while being interrogated by the police. They tied her to a tiger bench and deprived her of sleep.
Ms. Wang Lei is in her 40s and lives by herself. To break into her home, the police used a blow torch to cut open her iron door on June 7, 2012, and arrested her.
Ms. Shan Hanru was arrested the same day. Officers from Nantong 610 Office and the Domestic Security Division got into her house by climbing over the wall. They confiscated many of her personal items. Ms. Shan was arrested and taken to Nantong Brainwashing Center. She was handcuffed day and night. The police did not allow her to sleep and also beat her.
Brainwashing centers are torture centers
The fourth floor in the Beige Hotel and the seventh floor in the Lijing Hotel were specifically used by the 610 Office and the police as brainwashing centers to persecute the practitioners.
The police installed iron gates and windows and arranged for security personnel. They used handcuffs, leg irons, a tiger bench, and electric batons.
Cao Bing, head of Nantong Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and Jiang Jianning, the deputy head of the police department, are are specifically in charge of the brainwashing centers.
Attendees call for practitioners' immediate release
The defense lasted three hours. The judges made no response to the defense arguments and the accounts of persecution. When they left the courtroom, many people called out to them to “release the practitioners immediately.”
Individuals involved in the persecution:
Li Xin, head of Nantong Domestic Security Division: +86-513-85020600
Zhou Jianjun, head of Chongchuan District 610 Office: +86-13390962018, +86-13390965617, +86-513-85023606
Zhou Huaizhou, judge: +86-513-85219800
