POW camp

Your Honor scans the courtroom like the toughest referee on a football pitch, observing everyone with an unmoved eye.Lan Ting stood in the center of the dock. This young man obviously respected his status as a soldier, and his discipline was tightly fastened and meticulous.His eyes were very warm, with a burning temperature.Candid, straightforward, without affectation.

A person who attracts countless eyes no matter where he is.The judge secretly evaluated in his heart.

The gray-haired prosecution attorney, wearing his time-honored wig, was talking in a low voice with his assistant, again carefully revising every tiny place.A strict and prudent old lawyer, even in the face of such an obviously one-sided case, he will never take it lightly.

In contrast, the defense lawyer seemed too sloppy. The young man did not walk into the court until the last minute, quite leisurely.He and his assistant put the documents on the table and didn't take a second look. Instead, they kept staring at the prosecutor's lawyer, making no effort to hide the provocative newborn calf's unafraid expression on his face.

The judge frowned involuntarily, picked up the gavel and hit it twice as a routine.

"quiet!"

The judge's eyes fell on the prosecution barrister: "Prosecution lawyer, are you ready for your opening statement?"

"Yes, Your Honor." The prosecutor's lawyer stood up slowly, and Yue Zhiyuan was very mature, "Members of the jury. The defendant, Lan Ting, was a soldier of the Ole country and the heir of the former Lan clan army. He was captured by the enemy country. , signed the "Book of Surrender", which caused irreparable and extremely bad effects. The defendant was charged with treason. Your Honor, members of the jury, the following is the original and copy of the "Book of Surrender" signed by Lan Ting , as well as the newspapers that made the headlines of Puman State at the time.”

Assistants place the files on the desks of judges and jurors.

The prosecution lawyer paused for a few minutes so that everyone could read the evidence carefully again, and then continued: "Your Honor, please allow the first witness for the prosecution to appear in court. This witness is an ordinary person we found at random on the street."

The judge nodded.

So the first witness appeared.This is an ordinary farmer, looking around cautiously and fearfully, when he turned his head and saw the defendant, he shouted in surprise and anger: "Lanting!"

The prosecution lawyer asked: "Mr. Pease, please introduce your identity to the jury."

Pease swallowed uncomfortably, and said aloud: "My name is Pease, I work in...the suburb of the city, that... 46 years old today...that..."

"All right, Mr. Pease." The prosecution lawyer interrupted him. "Excuse me, did you know the defendant before?"

"I know, I know!" Pease suddenly became emotional, "His name is Lan Ting."

"How did you meet?"

"In the newspapers and on the radio, the enemy said he surrendered! He is a traitor, a traitor!" Pease spat at Lan Ting angrily, "Bah! Coward, bastard!"

There was a commotion in the auditorium, and Lan Ting pressed his lips tightly.

"Witness, please control your emotions." The judge said dryly.

"Thank you, Your Honor." The prosecution lawyer bowed, "I'm done asking."

"Let the defense counsel ask questions."

The defense lawyer bounced like a bullet, as if he had waited for a long time and finally waited for this sentence: "Mr. Pease?"

"Yes."

"How did you learn about the defendant's surrender?"

"Of course it's the newspaper, and the radio. By the way, the news also said it."

"That is to say, you didn't see it with your own eyes?"

"Do you still need to see this with your own eyes? Isn't what the newspaper broadcast said true?"

"That is to say, you only understand the result and are not familiar with the process, right?"

Pease was stunned by the question, and muttered for a long time: "What happened to the process? In short, he is a traitor, he is a traitor!"

The young defense lawyer paused for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject; "Mr. Pease, do you think that signing the instrument of surrender means betrayal, or in other words, as long as you surrender, you are betraying."

"Of course, does that need to be said?!" Pease looked upright.

"Then, do you think that all the captured soldiers, or the soldiers who are about to be captured, should commit suicide? Do you know how many prisoners there are in the Fancheng Prisoner of War Camp? There are 120 nine people. Do you think these 120 nine people should commit suicide? ?” He asked this question extremely fast, and the huge number suddenly stunned Pease.He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

The prosecution lawyer immediately stood up and said loudly: "I object! I object to the defense lawyer asking questions that are not related to this case, trying to influence the judgment of the witnesses and the jury."

"The objection is valid." The judge stared sharply at the young man, "Attorneys for the defense, please pay attention to the way you ask questions."

"Thank you, Your Honor, I'm done asking." The young man bowed and stepped back.

The second thing to be presented to the court was a few bulky physical evidence, which were carried by several people and placed in the open space in the middle of the court.When the wooden box was opened, there was a low exclamation from the audience.These objects were strangely shaped, stained with rust, and even faintly stained with blood. Everyone could tell at a glance that they were cruel instruments of torture used to torture prisoners.

The defense lawyer stood up: "Your Honor, members of the jury, what I present here are the original torture devices of the Fancheng Prisoner of War Camp, as well as the interrogation records of my client. The records show that the enemy has brutally tortured and tortured my client. Torture. Look, everyone—” He picked up an iron brush, the sharp thorns gleaming hideously in the sun, making people shudder, “The enemy used this instrument of torture to scrape the flesh and blood of my client. And this—— —” He picked up another torture tool, “throw this into the fire, burn it red, and burn it on my client’s body, causing heart-piercing pain. There are many other tortures like this, as you can see in the interrogation records, The brutal torture of my client lasted twelve hours without a break."

Everyone was stunned, knowing it was one thing, but seeing it with their own eyes was another. These instruments of torture undoubtedly gave the audience the most intuitive feeling.Some people couldn't help closing their eyes, and the women looked at Lan Ting with some sympathy.

"I object." The prosecution lawyer protested, "These have nothing to do with this case."

"No, Your Honor, these just prove that my client's loyalty to the country has been tested, and he is not a coward. Moreover, these are necessarily related to the evidence I will present next."

"The objection is invalid, the defense lawyer please continue."

The young man glanced at the prosecutor's lawyer triumphantly, and said, "Thank you, Your Honor, you can see that these criminal laws can cause extremely painful damage to a person, which is worse than death. Under the torment of hope, my client still did not provide any information about our army for the enemy. Ladies and gentlemen, my client was the captain of the detachment at the time, and he could have confided a little bit about our army's defense situation in exchange for freedom and even temporary peace. But He didn't, he would rather endure the cruel torture of the enemy. Everyone, my client is an upright soldier, he has never done anything wrong to the country, and he has a clear conscience." The young man was extremely full of emotions, talking eloquently, not like a defense, It's more like a speech.

The judge frowned and said coldly: "Attorney for the defense, please pay attention to your words."

"I'm done, thank you." The defense lawyer sat down calmly.

"Prosecution lawyer, do you have any questions?"

"Of course, your honor." The prosecution lawyer stood up, completely ignoring the other party's slightly sarcastic expression, and said calmly, "Men and jurors, I also happen to have a document here showing that our prisoners of war were sent to the Fancheng Concentration Camp. performance." He said unhurriedly, "You can see from this document that almost all prisoners of war were tortured by the enemy. Among them, fifty or sixty were tortured to death; 78 were permanently tortured. nearly 300 people were sexually assaulted to varying degrees, and 47 of them suffered severe mental damage. In the end, less than 30 people confessed, and less than 20 people signed the surrender document. At that time, the Noble, there is only one defendant!"

The last sentence was short and forceful, and it stopped abruptly, but it caused a lot of discussion in the audience.The flashes flicked on and on, and the reporters frantically wrote.

The young defense lawyer seemed astonished by his opponent's move. He bit his lip and pondered for a moment, then lowered his head and wrote something on the notepad.

"Call the next witness." The judge continued the process step by step.

The door opened, and a person walked in slowly. When Lan Ting saw clearly, he involuntarily stood up from the wooden stool.Hovis smiled at him and went to the witness stand.

"Witness, please confirm your identity to the jury."

"My name is Hawes. I'm a businessman now. I was ordered to perform a special mission in Fancheng a year ago."

"Can you tell me the specific content of the mission?"

"I'm afraid not. This is a military secret."

"But we can know that you were a spy at the time, isn't it?"

"Yes."

spy!spy!The auditorium was boiling, and everyone watched Hovis with wide-eyed eyes. They were more excited than watching Lan Ting go to prison.

The defense lawyer paused for a while, as if appreciating the commotion, and waited for everyone to quiet down before continuing to ask: "Mr. Howes, from your testimony, you have worked hard to save my client and almost A little bit of success, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Would you like to briefly describe the situation at that time for your honor and the members of the jury?"

"Yes." Hovis said, his voice was thick and his gestures were elegant, "At that time, I was ordered to rescue Lan Ting who was trapped in a prisoner-of-war camp, and dug a tunnel in Fancheng. As long as Lan Ting follows my plan , to reach a storage room, you can escape from the prisoner-of-war camp along the tunnel. And the guards at the gate of Fancheng are also our people, so they can slip out easily. All the route arrangements are properly arranged. If everything goes well, In less than half a month, Lan Ting will return to the motherland."

"Then based on your experience, how likely is this rescue to be successful?"

"Very big. I was ordered to do whatever it takes."

"Then why it didn't work out."

Hovis sighed softly, as if he still regretted the incident at that time: "Because the special envoy of the Puman Kingdom, Ge Bo, came to visit suddenly and held a small-scale competition with the prisoners of war. The defeated prisoners of war were immediately executed. In fact, At that time, several prisoners of our army were tortured and killed, so Lan Ting finally stood up."

"He defeated the opponent and prevented the opponent from continuing to wreak havoc?"

"Yes, but at the same time, I also lost the chance to escape from the prisoner-of-war camp."

"Mr. Hovis, can I understand this: Lan Ting failed to escape the prisoner-of-war camp in time because he wanted to teach the provocation of the Puman country, save other comrades in arms, and prevent more people from dying in this disaster created by the enemy. ?”

"Yes, that's it."

"It's either 1 or 2. Did he know what the choice he made would bring him?"

"He is very clear." Hovis glanced at Lan Ting. "Actually, I was very angry because of his recklessness. It was very difficult to arrange a rescue. I will never have the same opportunity in the future."

There were people whispering below.The defense lawyer flipped through the notebook in front of him and continued to ask: "Mr. Hovis, there was another thing mentioned in your testimony, that is, the enemy tried to force my client to submit by using a fake shooting method. Is it right?"

"Yes. They took Lan Ting to the execution ground and told him he would die if he didn't surrender."

"Did my client know at the time that it was an illusion?"

"He has absolutely no idea."

"What about you? Didn't you hint at him?"

"Impossible." Hovis still had lingering fears when he recalled the scene at that time. He looked at Lan Ting and said in a low voice, "Actually, I wasn't sure at the time that it was just an illusion."

"That is to say, even in the face of 'real' death threats, my client did not give in, did he?"

"Yes, he didn't."

"Thank you. Your Honor, my question is over."

The judge looked to the prosecution lawyer: "Do you need to cross-examine the witness?"

"Of course, Your Honor." The prosecution lawyer stood up and walked slowly to Hovis's side, "Mr. Hovis, as a spy, you have undergone special training, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Training with you, and the defendant."

"Yes."

"How was your relationship then?"

Hovis pondered for a while, and said, "It's not good." He smiled, as if recalling some interesting things, "It can be said that it is very bad, I kicked him out of the special training team, I guess he must hate me."

"Yes, Mr. Hovis, but you have always had a good opinion of the defendant." The prosecution lawyer gave Hovis a meaningful look and raised his voice, "My lord, jury, I have a very important document here , is the diary of Mr. Howes during the special training. The special training team requires that each trainee must record all the events of the day, even including the psychological state, because this is precisely the most indispensable part of the training. For the sake of confidentiality, we Only the content between the witnesses and the accused is copied, please read it.”

Hovis frowned. He didn't expect them to get those things. Even the young defense lawyer couldn't help biting his lower lip.

"Everyone, please read the diary." The prosecution lawyer said clearly, "On X-month X, it was sunny. Lan Ting? Next, I didn't expect to survive it. Well, he is an excellent opponent. On X, X, sunny. Lan Ting suffered a little injury on his forearm, but it is estimated that there will be no major problems. If he loses first, the competition will be gone. Interesting. X month X day, Qing. Is it so difficult to make him admit defeat? Even if he is no longer able to survive, Lan Ting, Lan Ting, stupid!!! Note that there are three exclamation marks here..."

Lan Ting glared at Hovis angrily, and Hovis shrugged innocently.

The prosecutor's lawyer held up a copy of the diary and said: "Mr. Hovis and the defendant received special training at the same time for six months and 23 days, and as a result, Lan Ting's name was written in the diary for six months and 23 days. To 510 twice. That is to say, Mr. Hovis has developed an unusual interest in the defendant from the first day he met the defendant. Mr. Hovis, please tell the jury faithfully whether you are interested in the defendant There is a special feeling."

Hovis didn't expect him to ask such a question in public, he hesitated for a moment, and said: "Yes, I love him, since then."

Like water dripping into a hot oil pan, there was a "buzzing" discussion in the auditorium, and everyone's eyes scanned Lan Ting and Hovis, spies and prisoners of war, oh, it was more enjoyable than watching a TV series.

"Silence. Silence!" Your Honor sounded the gavel.With great difficulty, the audience suppressed their inner excitement and managed to calm down.

"Prosecution counsel, please proceed."

"Thank you, Your Honor." The prosecution lawyer faced the jury, "Mr. Hovis has publicly admitted his feelings for the defendant. In fact, they are in a relationship. From the diary, it can be seen that Hovis has a crush on the defendant for a long time. For years. Your Honor, the jury, in these circumstances, I have to question the accuracy of Hovis' testimony."

"I object!" the defense lawyer screamed, "I object to the prosecution making baseless accusations against witnesses, which is doubting the integrity of a soldier who is extremely loyal to the country!"

"My loyalty to Mr. Hovis is beyond doubt, Your Honor." The prosecution lawyer said slowly, "It's just that what we have to face now is not the safety of the country, but my lover. No matter who it is, at this time All may be biased, this is human nature. Husbands and wives and close lovers cannot testify against each other, and this has precedents in our country."

"The objection is invalid." The judge looked at Hovis through thick glasses. "The witness must prove the truth of the testimony."

"I guarantee the authenticity of my testimony." Hovis said, he looked in the direction of Lan Ting, the eyes of the two met and merged in the air, and Hovis' tone was gentle and firm, "It is also because I love him, so No one knows him better than I do. I can guarantee with my life, my dignity and my honor that Captain Lanting has never, and never will, betray this country."