(Minghui.org) The Pingjiang County Court in Hunan Province tried three Falun Gong practitioners on August 17, 2016. Practitioners involved were Ms. Zou Wenyu, Mr. Hu Weirong, and Mr. Yang Daowen.
On the day of the trial, Zhan Xiru, director of the 610 office in Pingjing County, Captain Fang Qiankun, and other members of the domestic security division, as well as the directors of the township management office, were all present. The judge followed instructions by the 610 office and set restrictions for audience attendance at the trial. As such, only three family members were allowed to be present.
The only thing the judge did was run through the formality of the trial. The lawyer's argument and the family's protests were ignored. The judge regarded the filing of criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin as a crime and claimed it to be propaganda material. In the end, he read his previously prepared judgment and sentenced Mr. Hu and Ms. Zhou to three years in prison.
The court was running late for the trial of Mr. Yang Daowen. Yang defended himself and said he had committed no crime and that he did not accept this trial. He dismissed the lawyer and the trial was interrupted.
Practitioner Background
Ms. Zou is 61 years old and used to be a teacher. She was tortured at the Baimalong Forced Labor Camp in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province in 2002. She was rendered blind and her lower body was paralyzed.
In June 2015, she filed a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin with the Supreme Procuratorate and the Supreme Court. She was arrested in November 2015 when she told people the facts about Falun Gong. She has been held in the Yunxi District Detention Center in Yueyang City. While incarcerated, her health deteriorated and she could not take care of her daily needs.
Mr. Hu Weirong has been arrested 20 times for practicing Falun Gong. The police seized his signature sheets on December 1, 2015, when he collected signatures supporting practitioners Mr. Yang Daowen and Ms. Zou Wunyu, who had been arrested for filing criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin. He was arrested two days later when he went to the police station and asked for the return of the signature sheets.
Mr. Yang Daowen had previously been arrested twice and taken to a forced labor camp, once in 2007 and once in 2001. He was arrested in September 2015, taken to a brainwashing center, and later incarcerated in a detention center. Officials claimed that a draft of complaints against Jiang Zemin was found on his computer. They said that even if he was helping others to write it, suing Jiang was not allowed.
Responsible Officials:
Li Ming (李明), director of the Pingjiang County Court: +86-13907401992Wu Laicheng (吴来程), deputy director of the Pingjiang Count Court: +86-13874045698Wang Wandong (王晚东), Presiding judge: +86-13574768739
