Shandong Lawyer and Wife Illegally Tried Again

The persecution of Falun Gong in China has resulted in the suffering of countless families.

Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Liu Ruping and his wife Ms. Zhang Chenglan, residents of Jinan City, were illegally tried in the Changqing District Court in Jinan on January 30, 2018. Ms. Zhu Yuzhi, a 71-year-old practitioner, was tried along with them.

Security outside the courthouse was extremely tight on the day of the hearing. More than 30 uniformed police and plainclothes officers were deployed to patrol the area. They checked on pedestrians and took photos of passing vehicles on every street leading to the courthouse.

Inside the courtroom, Mr. Liu and Ms. Zhang were accused of “utilising a cult organisation to undermine the implementation of law.”

Their two lawyers argued, “Practicing Falun Gong causes no harm or loss to anyone or to the society. Our clients live by the standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to become better people. They did possess informational materials and handed them out, just like many companies do to promote their products by handing out fliers. This is fully protected by the Constitution and the law. Our clients are innocent and should be acquitted.”

The lawyers entered a not-guilty plea on their clients’ behalf and requested that they be released. The hearing ended after noon. No verdict was handed down.

 

 

 

Most Recent Arrest

Mr. Liu and his wife Ms. Zhang have been monitored and tracked by police officers from the Changqing District 610 Office and Domestic Security Brigade for a long time.

On the afternoon of September 15, 2017, Ms. Zhang was secretly videotaped by the officers who were following her when she gave Dafa books and materials to Ms. Zhu, who was then followed and arrested.

Ms. Zhang was arrested at work on September 19, four days later. Her home was ransacked and many personal items confiscated. She has been detained in the Jinan Detention Centre.

Mr. Liu was stopped in the corridor of his apartment building by waiting police officers around 6 p.m. when he returned home from work that day. He was arrested and taken to Xincheng Police Station for interrogation.

He was later transferred to Jinan No. 3 Detention Centre. He was accused of talking about the health benefits of practicing Falun Gong at the companies where he applied for a job.

 

Previous Persecution

After Mr. Liu started practicing Falun Gong in 1997, all his ailments, including gastroenteritis, neurasthenia, and laryngitis, disappeared. Seeing how much her husband changed physically and mentally, Ms. Zhang became a practitioner in 2005.

The couple was repeatedly arrested for their belief, with the husband given 1.5 years of forced labor and 7 years in prison, and the wife 1.5 years of forced labor. Mr. Liu endured brutal torture including hanging, electric shocks, and force-feeding.