(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Yang Hualian, Mr. Huang Dingcheng, and Ms. Liao Xiaolan were illegally sentenced on December 6, 2013, by the Guanghan City Court in Sichuan Province. This was the second time the three practitioners had been tried. Ms. Yang was handed a 9-year sentence; Mr. Huang, an 8-year sentence; and Mr. Liao, a 5-year sentence.

Verdicts Decided Before Trial

Insiders revealed that the trial was just for show, as the verdicts had been decided beforehand.

When the three practitioners were tried the first time on October 22, 2013, they clarified the facts about Falun Gong in the courtroom. Two of the practitioners hired two attorneys to defend them. The righteous thoughts and actions of these practitioners and their defense attorneys inspired the other attorney, who had been appointed by the court to the third practitioner.

Zeng Lingsheng, the presiding judge at the second trial, asked Ms. Yang to sign the court documents, which she refused to do. Zeng said, “It would also be difficult to handle this if you were in my shoes.”

Ms. Yang Hualian's Defense Statement at Her Second Trial

Ms. Yang Hualian said to prosecutor Xiao Shichang: “Three of the four required elements to process a case are missing in my case. You are a prosecutor, a professional law enforcement officer. How come you are not clear on the basic principles of conviction and sentencing?”

Zeng Lingsheng, the other prosecutor, interrupted her, saying she had mentioned this before. Ms. Yang said, “You are correct. But you did not answer my question.” Zeng Lingsheng said, “Do you have anything new?” Ms. Yang responded, “Yes. I want to ask you, the prosecutor, which law did we three Falun Gong practitioners violate? How did we violate the implementation of law and who did we hurt? Please tell us.”

Prosecutor Xiao Shichang replied, “You will see that in the notice of the bicameral judicial interpretation...” Ms. Yang interrupted and completed the sentence, “The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress has the final right to interpret the Constitution. Both interpretations are unconstitutional. The court should not accept that.”

Judge Zeng Lingsheng insisted on accepting the unconstitutional notice from both houses and is responsible for another injustice.

Over the objections of the prosecutor and presiding judge, the practitioners stated again that practicing Falun Gong is legal, that practitioners are innocent, and that producing Falun Gong truth-clarification materials is legal.

Ms. Yang's Closing Statement

“The prosecutor, as the state's professional law enforcement officer, should know that the law is to be used to constrain behavior, not thought. They should know that criminal law is used to punish wrongdoings, rather than to punish those who do good deeds. Nor is it to be used to punish thought deemed to be wrong by the state.

“I personally believe in Falun Gong, which is a type of thought. In order to promote Falun Gong's ideals, I made some Falun Gong informational materials. They have not harmed anyone or anything. Therefore, what I did was not a crime, and the prosecutor's presumption of guilt is without basis.

“The evidence the prosecutor presented to substantiate his charge of 'using an illegal organization to undermine law enforcement' proves just the opposite. The entire process has proven that we three practitioners did not commit any crime.

“It was the public security officers who really undermined the law. Specifically, they undermined the Constitution, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. No law expressly says that what we did was criminal. Knowing that we are innocent, you still punish us by coming up with unconstitutional interpretations. You are the ones who are committing crimes. According to my facts and the law, the court should render a verdict of not guilty. In the meantime, you should release me and other Dafa practitioners unconditionally. The law enforcement agencies should compensate us for all spiritual and material losses.

“What is extremely regrettable is that many 610 Office and police personnel still do not have a clear understanding of why Falun Gong is being persecuted. For the sake of your future, I hope you do not miss this opportunity. In fact, this trial today is for your sake! Maybe you will understand this in the future.

“I want to thank the court for giving me the right to defend myself. I want to thank the lawyers who could withstand enormous pressure, traveling thousands of miles to give me legal aid and pleading not guilty on our behalves. I want to thank our relatives, friends, and every individual who took out time from his or her busy schedule and focused on our case.

“I firmly believe that what we did today will have a good result in the end!”

After the verdict was read, Zeng Lingsheng, the presiding judge, asked Ms.Yang to sign her name on the court record. Ms. Yang said, “What I did was not against the law, yet now you want me to sign the verdict? I will not.” Zeng said helplessly, “You would not know how to handle this if you were in my position.” Then he told Ms. Yang Hualian's family, “You can take her home.”

Details about Ms. Yang

Ms. Yang was born in July 1953. She was an engineer at the former Guanghan City Agricultural Bureau.

Because she refused to give up Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, she was frequently persecuted by the Guanghan 610 Office, Shifang Police Station, Guanghan City Police officers, and CCP minions. Her home was ransacked several times and she was fired from her job in September 2008.

Court staff:
Zheng Lingsheng, the presiding judge: 86-13508016765 (Cell), (Judge during prior proceedings was Luo Ling and juror was Tao Jun.)
Wang Yu, clerk: 86-838-5223808 (Office) (He was not at the second trial.)
Xiao Shichang, prosecutor: 86-838-5229644, 86-18981061504 (Cell)
Liu Shengwei