(Minghui.org) A mother and daughter in Changchun were tried on May 27, 2017, for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
The defense lawyers entered not guilty pleas for both women. They argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that their clients should never have been prosecuted for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of belief.
The judge adjourned the session without handing down a verdict. Ms. Wang Caixia and her daughter Ms. Liu Dongyang remain in the Changchun City Fourth Detention Center since their arrest on July 21, 2016.
Police Pry Open Window to Make Arrests
Ms. Wang and her children were home on July 21, 2016, when more than a dozen officers pried open a window and jumped in.
When her son, Mr. Liu Zhiyuan, berated the police for their intrusion, they knocked him down. His leg was injured and kept bleeding.
The police confiscated a computer, a printer, a cell phone, and 17,000 yuan in cash before taking Ms. Wang, her son, and her daughter Ms. Liu Dongyang to Nong’an County Police Station.
Mr. Liu was later released because he does not practice Falun Gong. His sister was taken to Changchun City Fourth Detention Center.
The police had intended to taken Ms. Wang to the same detention center, but she exhibited high blood pressure symptoms, so they drove her to a local hospital. They kept her overnight and gave her injections.
The police tried again the next day and got the detention center to admit Ms. Wang. Her high blood pressure symptoms, though, quickly returned, and the detention center notified her son.
Mr. Liu immediately went to the police station to pick his mother up, but an officer said, “Your mother is totally fine; otherwise the detention center wouldn’t have admitted her.”
Son Mocked for Seeking Release of Mom and Sister
Ms. Wang and Ms. Liu were issued formal arrest warrants on August 19, 2016.
Mr. Liu made several trips from Changchun, where his family resides, to Nong’an County Police Station to inquire about the case against his mother and sister. The police never gave him a straight answer.
When he requested the return of the confiscated 17,000 yuan in cash, one officer responded, “You dare to ask for the money back? Don’t you know what crime your mother and sister have committed?
“You’re a young man. Why do you come here all the time instead of going to work?”
Shocked, Mr. Liu said, “My mother and sister are being detained even though they have done nothing wrong. I’ll do everything I can to get them released!”
Supporters Arrested
Ms. Wang and Ms. Liu were tried on May 27, 2017. Their lawyers, Mr. Ma Wei and Mr. Zhou Yunchang, defended their innocence and demanded acquittals.
Only Mr. Liu was allowed inside the courtroom. Supporters of his mother and sister were stopped by the police, and a few were even arrested.
Related Article in Chinese:吉林省首例律师出庭为法轮功学员做无罪辩护
