(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Meng Fanquan was tried at the Lubei Court in Tangshan, Hebei Province on April 23, 2015.
His lawyer gave a rebuttal of the charges presented by prosecutor Huang Wei. He pleaded “not guilty” for his client because practicing Falun Gong is legal under the Chinese Constitution and keeping Falun Gong materials is not a violation of existing Chinese law. The lawyer demanded that the prosecutor drop the charges.
The prosecutor informed the court about Falun Gong materials that were confiscated from Mr. Meng's home in 2013. But the lawyer pointed out that those items were destroyed by the police and that the destruction of evidence before a case is a criminal offense.
Officials from the local 610 Office ordered the arrest of Mr. Meng, but did not appear in court.
The trial lasted for two and half hours.
Mr. Meng was arrested on March 13, 2014. Officials from the Lubei Procuratorate in Tangshan approved the arrest on April 18, 2014.
Previous Arrests
Mr. Meng has been arrested and detained many times since the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999.
He was previously sentenced to seven years in prison in 2006 and was released on April 18, 2013.
On May 23, 2013, police arrested him again and detained him for 10 days. They ransacked his home and confiscated Falun Gong books, a printer, television, DVD player, Falun Gong informational materials and other items.
