(Minghui.org) Ten Falun Gong practitioners from Dehui City, Jilin Province, were sentenced to prison because they refused to give up their faith, a spiritual practice that went public in 1992 and has been persecuted since 1999.
The 10 practitioners were arrested in September 2016 and were forbidden to hire lawyers. All of them are in the process of appealing their sentences at the Changchun Intermediate Court. Judges Shi Quan and He Fu were assigned to Mr. Cui's case.
Mr. Cui Tao's Beijing-based lawyer Li Jinglin tried to submit his case on August 21, but the case was rejected by both judges. Mr. Cui’s wife and the lawyer sued the two judges on Mr. Cui’s behalf and filed a complaint with the Changchun Procuratorate, Jilin Procuratorate and the Jilin High Court.
Mr. Cui demanded that the two judges be recused because of their unlawful conduct. Mr. Cui’s wife, son and lawyer went to the Intermediate Court to submit their request on September 12, 2016. The two judges refused to accept the appeal documents because of the lawsuits against them. He Fu yelled at and threatened the lawyer.
He Fu later called Mr. Cui’s family and claimed that he needed to confirm the facts of the case with Mr. Cui before he could take the case. It appeared that he was trying to stall for time.
The next day the lawyer submitted Mr. Cui’s case again to the court, and He Fu again refused to accept it.
Related reports:Dehui, Jilin Province: 10 Sentenced to Prison for Resisting the Persecution of Falun Gong
Ten Jilin Residents On Trial Denied Right to Hire Own Lawyers
