(Minghui.org) Thirteen residents of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, were recently tried for their faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since July 1999.
They were all charged with “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the regime to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners. While no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it as a cult, the prosecutor in charge of the case alleged that the defendants used “thoughts” to interfere with court proceedings and undermine law enforcement.
Arrests, Indictment, and Trial
The 13 practitioners were arrested on May 10, 2021, and had their joint case assigned to Zhangjiagang City, which is under the administration of Suzhou City.
Prosecutor Guo Juncheng (+86-512-55370713) of the Zhangjiagang City Procuratorate indicted the practitioners on May 18, 2022. Days later on May 23, the Zhangjiagang City Court put a hold on the case citing pandemic prevention and control.
Guo later resubmitted the case and added to the criminal charges against the practitioners. Their defense lawyers had to wait six months before being allowed to review their case file. They also faced intimidation for “daring” to defend their clients’ innocence. Changshu City Police Department officers went to Suzhou City to gather background information about the lawyers, such as which law firms they worked for and where they practiced law. (Changshu City is also under the administration of Suchou City).
The Changshu police then went to each lawyer’s law firm and harass themed. The judicial bureaus in charge of the law firms later dispatched people to attend the trial to intimidate the lawyers. (In China, judicial bureaus oversee lawyer licenses.)
The Zhangjiagang City Court held two heard the case twice in 2024. The first hearing ran from January 31 to February 8, 2024, and the second hearing only lasted one day, May 22.
Judge Lin Shuang (+86-512-56967300) presided over the trial, assisted by judges Ren Qingmin and Wang Guoying.
Prosecutor Guo cited as prosecution evidence the fact that the 13 practitioners had showed support for another group of local Falun Gong practitioners prosecuted for their shared spiritual belief a few years back. The 13 practitioners chipped in to hire lawyers for the previously prosecuted group of practitioners and also went to the Wujiang District Court in Suzhou City during the latters’ three hearings.
Guo alleged that the 13 practitioners’ three trips to the Wujiang District Court was evidence that they used their “thoughts” to interfere with court proceedings and to lend moral support to the previously prosecuted group of practitioners.
Judge Lin has yet to make a ruling in the case.
Awaiting Verdict
The 13 practitioners are: Ms. Dong Wanyu, Mr. Ji Yong and his wife Ms. Pan Ning, Ms. Cui Ping, Ms. Li Shoujie, Ms. Wu Xiaoming, Ms. Yuan Huifen, Ms. Zhao Haibo, Ms. Zhu Ying, Mr. Chang Zheng, Ms. Han Guixiang, Ms. Zhang Yumei, and Mr. Wen Jian.
They were arrested on the same day as three other local practitioners— Ms. Mei Hongjuan, Ms. Ji Cuiping, and Ms. Zhu Qiuling. Over 200 police officers were dispatched at 6 a.m. on May 10, 2021, and seized all 16 of them from their respective homes.
Ms. Zhu Qiuling was released after 15 days of detention, while the others were detained for at least six months. On November 16, 2021, Ms. Yuan, Mr. Chang, and Mr. Wen were transferred to the Suzhou City Fourth Detention Center and Mr. Zhao to the Changshu City Detention Center. The remaining 11 were released on bail around November 16, 2021.
Related reports:
Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province: 14 Falun Gong Practitioners Detained for Over a Month
Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province: 13 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in One Day
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