(Minghui.org) An military veteran in Tieling City was arrested last October after he filed a criminal complaint accusing former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin for launching the persecution of Falun Gong, which resulted in his four years of incarceration and subsequent torture.
Five months later, Mr. Li Zhongyuan was sentenced to 7.5 years on charges of “using a cult to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese Communist regime to imprison Falun Gong practitioners.
Mr. Li has filed an appeal.
Mr. Li mailed out his criminal complaint against Jiang on June 10, 2015, only to be arrested at home on October 20. Police confiscated 2,500 yuan in cash, other valuables, and a copy of his 22-page complaint against Jiang.
The police kept questioning Mr. Li about his lawsuit against Jiang during the interrogation. The indictment, however, did not mention anything about the lawsuit. Instead, it listed the standard charge against Falun Gong practitioners of “using a cult to undermine law enforcement.”
Mr. Li was tried on January 22 of this year. His lawyers argued that there has never been a law that criminalizes Falun Gong; hence, their client should never have been prosecuted for exercising his right to freedom of belief.
The lawyers further emphasized that it was Mr. Li's legal right to seek justice against Jiang for infringing upon his right to freedom of belief, and that the arrest should not have happened in the first place.
Mr. Li was shocked to hear the prosecutor read aloud the evidence against him. The indictment said he was arrested “while making Falun Gong materials at home” and that the police confiscated “more than 420 Falun Gong books, 78 Falun Gong disks, and 1,860 flyers.”
Mr. Li testified that he was resting at home when armed police broke in to arrest him; he did have some Falun Gong books and informational materials at home, but those were his lawful possessions, which caused no harm to anyone, let alone undermine law enforcement.
However, the indictment grossly exaggerated the amount of Falun Gong material that was found. He was never asked to sign any list of confiscated items to verify what had been taken from his home.
The prosecutor refused to present any of the “evidence” in the courtroom, and later conceded that it was not his job to verify the police-supplied evidence.
Judge Piao adjourned the session without issuing a verdict.
In 1999, Jiang Zemin, as head of the Chinese Communist Party, overrode other Politburo standing committee members and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong.
The persecution has led to the deaths of many Falun Gong practitioners in the past 16 years. More have been tortured for their belief and even killed for their organs. Jiang Zemin is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of the brutal persecution.
Under his personal direction, the Chinese Communist Party established an extralegal security organ, the “610 Office,” on June 10, 1999. The organization overrides police forces and the judicial system in carrying out Jiang's directive regarding Falun Gong: to ruin their reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.
Chinese law allows for citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are now exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.
Related Report:Falun Gong Practitioner Li Zhongyuan Sues Jiang Zemin for Torture