Updates on Joint Trial of Four Falun Gong Practitioners in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province
(Minghui.org) Minghui.org previously reported on the three hearings of a joint case against four Falun Gong practitioners in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. This report provides the latest updates.
Ms. Li Hongmei, 65; Ms. Liu Shuzhen, around 70; Mr. Shi Zuosheng, 74; and his wife, Ms. Chen Xiumei, 54, were arrested during a police sweep of local practitioners on August 21, 2025.
Ms. Li Hongmei
Officer Sun Chuanpeng threatened to persecute Ms. Li to death while interrogating her. Her lawyer was not allowed to review her case file.
The Acheng District Police Department combined Ms. Li’s case with the other three practitioners’ despite their objection. Prosecutor Yang Liying from the Acheng District Procuratorate indicted them without verifying the police-supplied evidence.
The Acheng District Court held the first hearing on March 30, 2026. Previous reports indicated it was an in-person hearing, but new information has emerged that it was a virtual hearing despite the four practitioners’ objection. By law, a judge cannot hold a virtual hearing without the defendant’s consent.
Due to Ms. Chen’s severe hearing loss and the poor Internet connectivity resulting in blurry visuals and audio-video desynchronization, judge Wang Weichen had to stop the first hearing midway through it.
Minghui.org previously reported that the second hearing was held virtually on April 13, 2026, and that the practitioners’ faces were not displayed on the screen in the courtroom. Latest updates reveal that this hearing actually never took place because three of the practitioners refused to attend the hearing in protest of judge Wang’s repeated rejection of their requests for in-person hearings. Wang called the detention center multiple times but the practitioners stood their ground. Wang canceled the hearing 40 minutes later.
A third hearing, again virtual despite the practitioners’ objections, did take place as scheduled on April 29, 2026. Ms. Li protested the virtual hearing because it would not allow her to fully testify in her own defense as would be possible during an in-person session. The guards did not press her, but told judge Wang that Ms. Li refused to attend the virtual hearing because she believed she broke no law.
Previous reports indicated that Ms. Li might be tried in-person separately, and newly available information indicates that judge Wang tried her in absentia on April 29.
All four practitioners remain in detention and are awaiting verdicts.
Ms. Liu and Mr. Shi were both previously given two years of forced labor following their arrests in November 2004. Ms. Li was previously detained four times and served two forced labor terms totaling four years. Her mother (in her 70s) and brother (43), both Falun Gong practitioners, died in 2000 and 2002, respectively, as a result of the persecution.
Related Reports:
Three Heilongjiang Residents Made to Attend Yet Another Virtual Hearing Despite Their Objection
Four Heilongjiang Residents Forced to Attend Virtual Court Hearing Despite Their Objection
Arrested in a Police Sweep, 65-Year-Old Heilongjiang Woman Gets 7.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong
Harbin, Heilongjiang Province: More Than 10 Arrested for Practicing Falun Gong, Four Face Indictment
New Cases of Falun Gong Practitioners Who Died After Being Drugged While In Custody (Graphic Photos)