(Minghui.org) A couple from Hebei Province appeared in court for a second time, on November 13, 2018, on trial for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual practice based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance that has been persecuted by the communist regime since 1999.
A video was played as additional prosecution evidence during the second hearing. When the couple pointed out that the home shown in the video being searched by police wasn't theirs, judge Liu Yansuo stopped them from talking. He also barred their lawyer from making defense arguments.
The couple remains detained after the hearing.
Arrest and First Hearing
Mr. Wang Zhiqin and Ms. Cao Yachun were arrested on December 1, 2017 after the police suspected them of putting up Falun Gong posters.
Authorities initially kept the couple's family in the dark about the status of their case. Not until they hired a lawyer did they find out that their case had been submitted to Luannan County Procuratorate.
When the family went to the procuratorate to inquire about their case, they were given the run-around between the police station, the procuratorate and the court.
The Luannan County Court held a hearing for the couple on August 24, 2018. The prosecutor claimed that government officials from Matouying Town identified on a surveillance camera a couple putting up Falun Gong posters in a village there, who looked like Mr. Wang and Ms. Cao. Several village officials also testified that they knew the couple for practicing Falun Gong.
The couple's lawyer argued that the faces of the two people putting up the posters in the video were barely recognizable, and no evidence indicated that the couple were ever at that place. On the other hand, the police didn't provide a list of items confiscated from their home, nor did they have the items confirmed by the couple as theirs. Therefore, none of the “evidence” was admissible to support the prosecutor's charges.
The couple also argued that no law in China has criminalized Falun Gong, and they shouldn't be charged for their belief.
At the end of the August hearing, Prosecutor Li Guohua recommended three to four years in prison.
Mr. Wang and Ms. Cao are currently detained at the Luannan County Detention Center and the Tangshan City No.1 Detention Center, respectively.
Previous report:
Hebei Practitioners Mr. Wang Zhiqin and Wife Ms. Cao Yachun Tried
