(Minghui.org) A 66-year-old Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province resident stood trial on March 23, 2023, for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. His mother was devastated over his being persectuted and died ten days before his hearing.
Mr. Miao Zhongjun’s lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for him. The lawyer argued that Falun Gong was never on the cult list published by the government and that the Chinese publication bureau has long lifted the ban on Falun Gong books in 2011. As such, Mr. Miao shouldn’t have been charged for distributing Falun Gong materials or talking to people about it.
Prosecutor Zhao Shiyuan threatened to give Mr. Miao a heavy term because he refused to plead guilty. Mr. Miao maintained that he didn’t violate any law. He asked the prosecutor, “If practicing Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is considered a cult, then please tell me what do you think is a righteous practice?”
The prosecutor also asked Mr. Miao where he got the Falun Gong materials. He refused to answer.
Mr. Miao’s brother represented him as a family defender. He said that as the oldest child in the family, Mr. Miao had been the main caregiver to their 86-year-old mother and 97-year-old father, a veteran who still has a bullet left in his body as a result of fighting a war. He often taught his siblings to be kind and considerate.
The other three family members of Mr. Miao who attended the hearing were arranged to sit in the corners, surrounded by bailiffs, who threatened to remove them from the courtroom if they didn’t follow their orders.
Arrest
Mr. Miao was arrested on May 10, 2022, at his parents’ home, where he had been staying to take care of them. The police handcuffed him behind his back and confiscated his personal belongings.
When the police released Mr. Miao on bail three days later, they told his parents that the conditions of bail release would be valid for a year, after which they would be lifted if he didn’t commit any crime during the time.
Two months later, on July 25, the police deceived Mr. Miao into stepping outside of his parents’ apartment building and arrested him, hours after the Xincheng District Procuratorate approved his arrest warrant. Only then did Mr. Miao realize that the police had been seeking to prosecute him.
Mr. Miao is held at the Xincheng District Detention Center and denied family visitation. His arrest and detention dealt his mother, Ms. Li Fenghua, a hard blow. She missed him and had many sleepless nights. She was soon diagnosed with a terminal disease.
In the final days of her life, she cried with enormous pain, asking to see Mr. Miao for the last time. Mr. Miao’s wife applied to judge Quan Borong to have Mr. Miao released to see his mother, but the judge rejected her. Mr. Miao’s mother passed away on March 13, ten days before his hearing.
The Lianhu District Procuratorate and Lianhu District Court have been designated by the Political and Legal Affairs Committee to handle Falun Gong cases in Xi’an City since 2014. Many Falun Gong practitioners have been convicted by them.
Perpetrators’ contact information:
Quan Borong (权波蓉), judge of Lianhu District Court: +86-17829751505, +86-29-87627637, +86-29-87627639Li Wei (李维), judge’s assistant: +86-19890986745Zhao Shiyuan (赵诗媛), prosecutor of Lianhu District Procuratorate: +86-15319702295
Related report:
Shaanxi Man Faces Prosecution for His Faith, Elderly Parents in Distress
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