Judge Tries to Lure a Falun Gong Practitioner’s Lawyer into Pleading Guilty

On March 28, 2021, Chinese Communist officials arrested Ms. Ma Qin, a 53-year-old former schoolteacher for practicing Falun Gong. She was arrested near her home in Pingdu City, Shandong Province. Since then, she has been held at the Qingdao City No.2 Detention Center.

The Huangdao District Court heard Ms. Ma’s case on May 13, 2022 in the detention center.

During the hearing, Ms. Ma recounted how she had suffered severe psoriasis before practicing Falun Gong. She said that after spending all her savings (over 300,000 yuan) looking for a cure, her health hadn’t improved much at all. Shortly after she started practicing Falun Gong, the psoriasis disappeared. After several months in the detention center, where she was not allowed to practice Falun Gong, the condition relapsed.

Judge Ou told Ms. Ma that if she would stop practicing Falun Gong, she would get a lighter prison term. Ms. Ma reaffirmed that she wouldn’t renounce her faith and said, “Falun Gong teaches people to be good. It is a very good practice.”

Ms. Ma’s lawyer argued that it was her freedom of belief to practice Falun Gong. He said that the prosecutor had failed to demonstrate how Ms. Ma had violated the law or what harm she had caused. He demanded that the judge acquit Ms. Ma.

Ms. Ma’s lawyer told the family that, as soon as he agreed to take Ms. Ma’s case, judge Ou called him and asked if he would enter a not guilty plea for Ms. Ma. The lawyer replied, “I have a right to an independent defense.”

Based on an original report from Minghui.org.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

• Guo Yucheng (国玉成), deputy head of the Pingdu City 610 Office: +86-15615887178, +86-17669737776
• Li Faqi (李法岐), deputy head of the Pingdu City 610 Office: +86-13573251262, +86-532-88369900
• Dai Yugang (代玉刚), staff member, the Pingdu City 610 Office: +86-532-87309201
• Yin Chongmiao (尹崇淼), court clerkSun Jie (孙杰), prosecutor