(Clearwisdom.net) The appeal by four Falun Dafa practitioners, Ms. Wu Licui, 55; Ms. Liu Mingying, 59; Mr. Li Bending, 65; and Ms. Wang Langying, 59, in Kaijiang County, Sichuan Province was rejected by the Dazhou City Intermediate Court on January 14, 2010. The court upheld the verdict to incarcerate the four practitioners in the Jianyang Prison, which was delivered on September 21, 2009. More about their stories follow.

Mr. Li Bending and his wife Ms. Liu Mingying were at home when officers from the Kaijiang County National Security Bureau and the 610 Office visited and arrested them on the morning of July 22, 2008.

Ms. Wu Licui was not at home on July 31, 2008 when officers from the Kaijiang County National Security Bureau and the 610 Office visited and ransacked her home. The officers confiscated her Falun Dafa books and 157,900 yuan cash. On August 17, the police wiretapped and tracked her phone and eventually arrested her when she was out of town visiting a relative. On August 28, the police officially announced the arrest of Ms. Wu.

On September 7, 2008, Ms. Wang Lanying was home when she was arrested by officers from the Kaijiang County National Security Bureau and the 610 Office.

About a year later, on August 17, 2009, the four practitioners stood trial in the Kaijiang County Court. The four pleaded not-guilty. They told the court that police had arrested them without showing any legal documentation and failed to follow any legal procedures, and that they had been detained for an extended period of one year, during which time they were subjected to torture and coercive interrogation, as well as physical abuse in police stations and detention centers.

The case was filed by the Kaijiang County Procuratorate, approved by the Dazhou City Procuratorate, and then sent to the Kaijiang County Court. The county court then sent it to the Dazhou City Intermediate Court, which then submitted it to the Sichuan Province High Court. The High Court approved the case and sent it back to the county court. Although the case was tried under the name of county court, in actuality, the Kaijiang County Intermediate Court was responsible for the trial. The judge is Zhang Congping, deputy judge of the second court room of the Intermediate Court. The person in charge from the county court is the deputy director, Chen Wangtang.

When an illegal court session was held on August 17, 2009 in the Kaijiang County Court, Zhang Congping, the judge from the intermediate court was not present, but controlled the proceeding from behind the scenes. Officer Chen Dixin from the Kaijiang County 610 Office and Domestic Security police were at the court to intimidate courtroom observers.

The four practitioners and their defense lawyers Tang Jitian from Beijing, Wang Jin and Tang Yong from Chongqing, Sichuan province pleaded not-guilty, citing freedom of religion and constitutional rights. The court was unable to dispute the plea, however the authorities continued to detain the practitioners citing that verdicts would be announced after a court discussion. On September 21 the court announced the verdicts and illegally sentenced Ms. Wu Licui to ten years, Ms. Liu Mingying to six years, Mr. Li Bending to five years, and Ms. Wang Lanying to four years in prison.

Afterward, the four practitioners' defense lawyers appealed the case demanding that the court overturn the verdicts and release the four practitioners citing that practicing one's belief and clarifying the truth should not cause one to be subjected to incarceration.

However, the Dazhou City Intermediate Court rejected the appeal and announced on January 14, 2010, that the court upheld the previous verdicts.

Key Persecutors:
The Dazhou 610 Office:
Han Jiayi, director: 86-818-2385048 (Office), 86-13308245888 (cell)
Feng Debo, deputy director: 86-818-2393516 (Office), 86-818-3882827801 (Cell)

Peng Yu, chief of the Dazhou City National Security Team: 86-818-6222922 (Home)
The Dazhou City National Security Bureau: 86-818-2671780

The Kaijiang County 610 Office: 86-818-8236610
Chen Dixin (female), chief: 86-818-8226197 (Office), 86-15882901868 (Cell)

The Kaijiang County Court: 86-818-8222848
He Derong, director: 86-818-8237336 (Office), 86-818-8237619 (Home), 86-13989172833 (Cell)
Chen Wangtang, deputy director: 86-818-8236009 (Office), 86-8188222615 (Home), 86-13982822011 (Cell)

The Kaijiang County Procuratorate: 86-818-8222793
Yang Huixia, chief procurator: 86-818-8211999 (Office), 86-13882891666 (Cell)
Chen Gang, deputy procurator: 86-818-8236993 (Office), 86-818-8227110 (Home), 86-13982862139 (Cell)