Laiyang Court in Shandong Province Tries Ms. Wu Jinfeng

Ms. Wu Jinfeng was tried at the Laiyang Court in Shandong Province on September 19th. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials used much manpower and material resources to seal off the court and conduct the trial away from public view.

Ms. Wu, 56, is from Laiyang, Shandong Province. She has practised Falun Gong for over 10 years, and was dismissed from employment at the Laiyang Women's Federation because she refused to give up practising.

Officers Feng Zhenya and An Shouliang from the Wenhua Road Police Station arrested Ms. Wu while she was distributing leaflets and DVDs exposing the persecution and telling people the facts about Falun Gong on April 22nd, 2010. On the same night, four police officers ransacked her home and confiscated her personal belongings, including a tape recorder, a computer, and Falun Gong books. Ms. Wu was held at the Laiyang City Detention Centre.

CCP Repeatedly Ignored the Law and Sabotaged Ms. Wu's Legal Representation

After Ms. Wu's husband received notification of his wife's trial, he hired Ji Tao, an attorney from the Jinzhengtong Law Office in Laiyang, to defend her. However, Ji Tao did not help to protect her legal rights, but instead complied with police in covering up the arrest by signing the arrest warrant on Ms. Wu's behalf without her permission on May 28th--over a month after she was detained by the police.

Ms. Wu's husband then hired two well-known lawyers from Beijing. When they visited Ms. Wu at the detention centre on July 31st, they noticed that she was weak, shivering, and lethargic. She had not eaten for over 10 days. After she stood for a while, she collapsed to the floor. When she signed her name, her hands shook so badly that her signature was illegible. It became obvious that she had been tortured. The guards had tried to cover up their crimes by forbidding the family to visit.

Ms. Wu's husband worried about his wife's health and went to the Laiyang Detention Centre. He asked deputy head Song Pingbo, "How is Ms. Wu's health?" Song answered, "She is fine." The husband continued, "I heard from the lawyer that her health was bad. Is that true?" Then Song became irritated and asked, "Which lawyer did you hear it from?" The husband answered, "From the lawyer I hired." Song immediately took out his phone, called the police department and asked them to question Ji Tao (the previously hired lawyer, who under police pressure had acted against Ms. Wu's interests and never told the husband anything about his wife's health).

The family requested to obtain a guarantor, pending the trial. According to law, the Procuratorate should respond within one week, but Ms. Wu's husband's subsequent inquiry at the Laiyang Procuratorate was met with the response, "We have not looked into it yet." He never received a response prior to or after the trial.

Based on the Laiyang court notification, the trial date was set for September 13th-14th, with judge Zhu Jiangdong. Many locals distributed flyers and poster stickers regarding well-known Beijing lawyers coming to Laiyang to defend a Falun Gong practitioner. Close to the trial date, the court suddenly postponed the date, announcing on September 18th that the trial would instead be on September 19th.

The two Beijing lawyers returned to Laiyang on September 18th. When they came to the Laiyang Court on September 19th, they were told that the client has terminated the hiring agreement. The lawyers questioned their client's signatures on the document because they did not match Ms. Wu's previous signature. The court officials insisted that the lawyers did not have the right to represent Ms. Wu and the two lawyers had to leave. These two Beijing lawyers had been hired to defend many innocent Falun Gong practitioners and were seen as a threat to the CCP.

CCP officials threatened the family, who had no choice but to hire another local defence lawyer at the last minute to represent Ms. Wu--Zhu Xiangli from Yuande Law Office, Shandong Province.

CCP Dispatches Massive Numbers of Officers to Hide Unjust Court Proceedings

The CCP dispatched dozens of personnel to seal off access to the courthouse and prevent anyone from getting in to listen to the trial. Many Laiyang residents commented that the CCP must be afraid of Falun Gong to dispatch so many people for one trial.

According to the local residents, an unusually large number of cars parked everywhere on the main streets and corners around the courthouse on September 18th and 19th. Many police cars were also patrolling the streets day and night.

On the morning of September 19th (the day of the trial), police blocked the main roads in Laiyang, and officers were stationed at the major intersections. Trucks and public transportation had to take detours, and only passenger cars were allowed to go through. More than a hundred plainclothes and uniformed officers and many official vehicles surrounded the courthouse, and the intersection in front of the courthouse was blocked. Many officers were also stationed inside the courthouse building. Anyone wanting to enter the courthouse, including lawyers and staff, was thoroughly questioned outside before being allowed in.

Many local residents were also ordered to stay home on the day of the trial, and local Falun Gong practitioners were heavily monitored by assigned CCP members and not allowed to leave their homes.

The court did not issue a public announcement with the results of the trial.

Parties involved in the persecution:
Laiyang Police Department head: Guo Shanhai
Deputy head Wang Cheng (also the head of the Domestic Security Team): 86-13906452698, 86-535-2138258, 86-535-7238259
Brainwashing centre head at the Laiyang City Party School Wang Lei: 86-13697852777
610 Office: 86-535-6297138
610 Office head Sun Maoheng
610 office head Ma Shuguang: 86- 13853502789, 86-535-7211905(Office), 86-535-7298956 (Home)
Detention centre head Ma Xianjun: 86-13906452876, 86-535-7299857 (Office), 86-535-7185696 (Home)
Court judge Zhu Jiangdong: 86-535-7386060(Office), 86-535-7232596 (Home), 86-13583550155

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/10/2/230454.html