(Minghui.org) Ten Falun Gong practitioners were illegally tried at the Nangou Detention Center on July 9 and 10, 2013. Nine were from Xinbin County and one was from Fushun City. Wanghua Court and Wanghua Office of the Prosecutor of Fushun City conducted the “trials.”
Practitioners' family members braved terrible weather and traveled a long distance to the detention center early on the morning of July 9. They had not been able to see their loved ones for over a year and could hardly wait. However, the court made an unlawful decision to allow only two relatives to attend the hearing. This was later increased to three under the strong pressure from practitioners' relatives.
Just after 9:00 a.m. five practitioners from Xinbin County were placed on trial. Two lawyers from Beijing entered not-guilty pleas for them.
The first court session lasted for over five hours and was completed by 2:30 p.m. Almost immediately afterwards, the trial of practitioner Zhao Jiwei began. During the session, the presiding judge constantly interrupted the lawyers, preventing them from announcing their not-guilty plea, then hastily ended the session in just over an hour.
It was past 4:00 p.m. and the few police cars parked outside the detention center left one after another. The court then quickly and secretly put practitioner Ms. Chi Xiuhua on trial in order to prevent anyone from attending. The session had been scheduled on the next day, but was brought forward in secrecy without notification to her family, so no family members were present. Her only daughter hadn't seen her mother for over a year, even when she got married and gave birth to her baby boy.
Over a year ago, police arrested Ms. Chi at her home on April 15, 2012. Since her arrest, her daughter received no news about her condition or well-being. Her daughter hired a lawyer last year, but when they went to the court to view her mother's file, the court claimed that they knew nothing about her case.
Her daughter and the lawyer contacted various sources to find out what happened to her, and in the end they were told that she might have already been put on trial, but there was nothing specific.
With no options, her daughter reluctantly cancelled the contract with the lawyer. Her mother was subsequently put through another unlawful trial without her knowledge, and no one in the family knew how she'd suffered during the detention.
Later, they heard from a lawyer that a white-haired old lady was taken to the court room after the trial of Zhao Jiwei. Her mother looked well and healthy before she was taken away by police. How could she have turned into a white-haired old lady in just over a year? What persecution has she suffered in detention? Friends and relatives are now quite concerned for her.
Wanghua Court conducted a hasty trial for Falun Gong practitioners Shang Liping, Luo Xiujie and Yu Suxian on the morning of July 10; Yu Suxian's trial took only 30 minutes.
Torture display: Tiger Bench
According to Ms. Shang Liping's lawyer, she had been on a hunger strike three times and was tortured on a tiger bench in order to obtain evidence against her. Police also threatened that her daughter's university career would be jeopardized if she didn't “confess”. They forced her to sign a fabricated confession and used it as evidence to convict her. This “confession” was the only evidence brought against her, which was obtained through torture.
The lawyers said in a summary that a common characteristic of these cases is that the evidence against Falun Gong practitioners is all fabricated. The police arrested them first, then fabricated evidence, and finally framed them with a host of fabricated charges.
Ms Shang, a gentle and kindhearted lady is still suffering in Nangou Detention Center. She refuses to wear a prisoner's uniform and to do slave labor, and has been on hunger strikes three times. The last time she went on a hunger strike was to protest the persecution of fellow practitioner Liu Chengyan, who was force-fed with chili-peppered water.
Ms Shang used to be very healthy, weighing around 154 lb., but her weight has now fallen to less than 110 lb. Still, she is resisting the persecution with hunger strikes, regardless of her weak physical condition.
Sometime earlier before the court session, her lawyer went to visit her a few times, but was never able to see her. The guards told him that she didn't want to see him. The lawyer was very worried and couldn't understand why she refused to meet with him. At last, he got to see her two days before the trial and found out that she tried to see him, but the guards wouldn't open the door, and told her to crawl out through the bottom hole used for food delivery. She refused in order to protect the dignity of a Dafa practitioner. The guards then lied and reported that she'd refused to see the lawyer. Later, Ms. Shang requested to see the head of the detention center, and told him that if they would not allow her to visit with her lawyer, she would not appear in court. The head was afraid, and informed the lawyer that he could see her.
The court rushed through the trial without delivering a decision, and the persecution continues.
Her lawyer said that she would not accept a guilty verdict, not even for one day. She would continue her resistance to the end with hunger strikes.
We hope that people both inside and outside China will extend a helping hand, and together help us to resist the ongoing persecution of innocent people, and bring this unprecedented brutal persecution of a righteous belief to an end.
