(Minghui.org) Ms. Li Xianying was tried for her belief in Falun Gong on October 9, 2015 in Jilin Province. The Yongji County Court prevented her lawyer from attending the trial. In addition, the court notified her family members just one day before the trial of the trial date, in violation of existing Chinese procedural legal requirements.
Ms. Li Xianying was arrested by officers from the Chengnan Police Station, Yongji County Police Department and Yongji County 610 Office on the morning of July 1, 2015. The police ransacked her home.
She was detained at the Jilin City Brainwashing Center and then transferred to the Hongqi Detention Center.
The police did not contact her family on July 8, and when they did it was to extort 200 yuan from them for physical exam fees. They also failed to notify them on approval of the arrest.
Ms. Li's daughter decided to hire an attorney for her mother on September 29. She notified her mother using express mail. The Yongji County Police Department and the 610 Office heard about it and scheduled the trial at 9:30 a.m. on October 9, but only notified Ms. Li's family on October 8, one day before the trial. This violated the law that the court should notify the family members three days in advance.
Meanwhile, the court sent two local community staff members to coerce Ms. Li's daughter into dismissing the attorney.
Ms. Li's attorney still managed to file all the required documents on time on October 9. However, Judge Ju Wenyao demanded that the attorney have his qualifications verified by the justice bureau.
The justice bureau validated the attorney's qualifications and notified the judge over the phone. However the judge repeatedly asked the same questions about the validation in order to trap the attorney at the justice bureau and delay his attending the trial.
Finally the phone conversation was over and the attorney went back to the court. However, he could not find judge Ju Wenyao, and the judge refused to answer his phone. Court officials told the attorney that the trial was already over.
