(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhang Huijuan, Ms. Meng Fanying, Ms. Duan Shuyan, Mr. Liu Fengcheng, and Mr. Zuo Zhenqi were put on trial by the Yilan Court on July 31, 2013.

Before the trial, court officials tried to prevent the practitioners' lawyers from defending their clients by refusing them access to the court documents, and not informing them of the trial date. During the trial, a lawyer was given a microphone that didn’t work, and was often interrupted during the defense speech.

Practitioners Arrested

Officers from the Yilan County Police Department arrested Ms. Zhang Huijuan, Ms. Meng Faying, Ms. Duan Shuyan, Mr. Liu Fengcheng, and Mr. Zuo Zhenqi on March 29, 2013. Under orders from the Yilan County 610 Office, officials from the Yilan Procuratorate and the court tried to prosecute the practitioners. Ms. Zhang Huijuan, Ms. Meng Faying, Mr. Liu Fengcheng, and Mr. Zuo Zhenqi decided to plead “not guilty” and hired lawyers to defend them.

Court Officials Block Access to Court Documents

The defense lawyers asked that they be provided with the court documents on July 24, 2013. However, Zhang Anke, chief judge at Yilan County Court, claimed that an identification check had to be performed before the lawyers could access the documents. They were told that they could gain access to the documents after it was satisfactorily shown that they were not Falun Gong practitioners.

The court officials kept stalling and finding excuses not to provide the case documents, so the practitioners' families and lawyers filed a lawsuit against the Yilan County Procuratorate. When they returned to the courthouse that afternoon, they were still not given the documents. They also asked for Ms. Meng's daughter to be a witness on behalf of her mother, but this was denied by the court officials.

Separate Trials

Two separate trials were held for the five practitioners. The first trial was for Ms. Zhang Huijuan, Ms. Meng Fanying, and Ms. Duan Shuyan. Ms. Zhang and Ms. Meng had hired lawyers to defend them in court, but the lawyers were not informed of the trial date, and so were not present in court. When Mr. Liu Fengcheng's lawyer asked to be admitted to the courtroom, the request was denied. The trial lasted for half an hour without any defense lawyers being present.

Mr. Liu Fengcheng and Mr. Zuo Zhengzhi were tried next. Mr. Zuo's lawyer was unable to defend him because he was not given access to the case files. Only Mr. Liu's lawyer was present. Xu Haibo, the director of Yilan County 610 Office, monitored and controlled the court proceedings. Only about 20 people were allowed into the courtroom.

When the defense lawyer spoke, the judge frequently interrupted him, making it difficult for the lawyer to defend his client effectively. He was also given a microphone that did not work properly, and his statement could not be heard in the courtroom. The lawyer warned the court officials to act according to the law. He said that Mr. Liu was not guilty as charged and should be released.

Judge Zhang Anke told the lawyer after the trial that officials from the 610 Office instructed them to interrupt their defense speech.