(Minghui.org) The police are in a hurry to sentence five Falun Gong practitioners arrested in March in a high-profile Heilongjiang human rights case.

The police submitted their cases to the Jiansanjiang Procuratorate on May 5, 2014. The Procuratorate brought the case to court on May 27.

Practitioners Ms. Wang Yanxin, Ms. Li Guifang, Ms. Meng Fanli, and Mr. Shi Mengwen were arrested on March 21 for appealing to Qinglongshan Brainwashing Center to release practitioners illegally detained there. Mr. Fan Longsheng was arrested on March 29, when he was posting posters to raise awareness about the March 21 arrest.

Mr. Fan's lawyer went to the detention center and the Domestic Security Division several times to inquire about the case. He was told that his client would be tried in Jiansanjiang Court on July 11, 2014.

The Beijing Domestic Security Division attempted to prevent the lawyer from defending Mr. Fan by pressuring the local bar association and the lawyer's law firm. The police have also been monitoring Mr. Fan's family and the lawyer, and have recorded their cars' plate numbers.

Ms. Li Guifang's family have traveled between the detention center, police department, and Procuratorate to ask about her condition, but the authorities have refused to reveal any information. Her family has hired an attorney to defend her.

The other practitioners' family members have also been actively contacting the departments involved and asking that the practitioners be released.

Based on Mr. Fan's trial date, the practitioners' families and their lawyers believe that the authorities are planning a hasty trial of all five practitioners in an attempt to keep international attention to a minimum.

Related report: Notable Heilongjiang Human Rights Case: Four Out of Eleven Facing Illegal Sentence