(Minghui.org) Fourteen Falun Gong practitioners from Yilan County, Heilongjiang Province, have recently been sentenced to 3 to13 years of imprisonment. They are among approximately 50 practitioners illegally arrested in late March 2013. Some of the practitioners are over 60 or 70 years old.
Ms. Fei Shuqin was sentenced to 13 years; Mr. Mo Zhikui and Ms. Zhang Huijuan to 12 years; Mr. Zuo Zhenqi and Ms. Lu Fengyun to 6 years; Mr. Sun Wenfu, Mr. Zhang Jinku, Ms. Chen Yan, Mr. Liu Fengcheng, Ms. Meng Fanying and Ms. Duan Shuyan to 5 years; and Ms. Jiang Lianying, Mr. Xu Feng and Mr. Li Dapeng to 3 years.
Beginning on the night of March 29, 2013, police in Yilan County, Fangzheng County, Tonghe County, and other counties in Harbin City arrested nearly 50 Falun Gong practitioners within 3-4 days. These arrests were ordered by Wang Xiankui, head of the Heilongjiang Province Communist Party Committee.
In early 2013, Wang Xiankui went to different areas to conduct inspections. While traveling on Harbin-Tongjiang Highway, he saw several banners related to Falun Gong, such as "Falun Gong is good," "Bring the perpetrators of the persecution to justice," etc. He then issued an order for a thorough investigation.
The Yilan County and Fangzheng County Police Departments made a list of all Falun Gong practitioners they knew in their areas and traced their phone numbers through spying. They then staked out the homes of those practitioners whose numbers they didn't know.
At 6 p.m. on March 29, police in Yilan County and neighboring counties acted in unison to arrest over 30 practitioners.
The same evening, nine practitioners—including Mr. Mo Zhikui, Mr. Sun Wenfu, Mr. Zhang Jinku, Mr. Liu Fengcheng, Ms. Meng Fanying, Mr. Zuo Zhenqi, Ms. Fei Shuqin, Ms. Lu Fengyun and Ms. Chen Yan—drove to Sandaogang Town to distribute Shen Yun Performing Arts DVDs and information about Falun Gong. After tracing the cell phone numbers of Ms. Fei and Mr. Mo, police intercepted their van. The police broke the windshield and then confiscated their van, including over 5,000 DVDs, 50 books and 1,000 informational brochures about Falun Gong found inside.
The nine practitioners were arrested; their personal belongings were confiscated.
Throughout the next several days, 50 practitioners in total were arrested in Yilan, Fangzheng and Tonghe counties.
Per orders of the Yilan County Political and Legal Affairs Committee and 610 Office, the Yilan Procuratorate and court tried the 14 practitioners mentioned above in five trials.
The first trial was held on the morning of July 18, 2013, when the Yilan County Court tried five practitioners: Mr. Mo Zhikui, Mr. Zhang Jinku, Mr. Sun Wenfu, Mr. Li Dapeng, and Mr. Xu Feng.
The second and third trials were held on the afternoon of July 31. Another five practitioners were tried: Ms. Zhang Huijuan, Ms. Meng Fanying, Ms. Duan Shuyan, Mr. Liu Fengcheng, and Mr. Zuo Zhenqi.
The fourth and fifth trials were held on the afternoon of August 21 to try Ms. Fei Shuqin, Ms. Lu Fengyun, Ms. Chen Yan and Ms. Jiang Lianying.
The families of the 14 practitioners hired 11 lawyers, and one of the family members was assigned as "the second defender." The court staff proceeded to make trouble for the lawyers.
For example, before the fifth trial, the court informed Ms. Jiang Lianying's lawyer that the trial would be held on August 6. After the lawyer traveled to Yilan County all the way from Beijing on August 5, the court suddenly announced that it would be postponed, pending further notice.
The court also forbade Mr. Zuo Zhenqi's lawyer to review the case files. As a result, he was unable to present his defense in court.
The court also denied the lawyers of Ms. Zhang Huijuan and Ms. Meng Fanying, as well as the family member who acted as the second defender and the second lawyer of Mr. Mo Zhikui access to court documents. In the end, only five of the practitioners' lawyers were permitted to attend the court sessions.
All of these actions were illegal, and the lawyers complained to the relevant departments three times.
In court, the head of the Yilan County 610 Office supervised the trial in person. Only 20-30 people were allowed to attend the hearings, even though the courtroom had space for many more. When the lawyers presented their defense, the judges tried to silence them and interrupted them many times, so that the audience could not hear the full content of the lawyers' statements.
During the trials, the practitioners' lawyers pointed out that freedom of belief is a basic human right, recognized by the whole world. Acting against it is a breach of International Law and the Chinese Constitution.
A person does not violate any laws by practicing Falun Gong, and distribution of informational materials about Falun Gong is also not illegal.
The lawyers also stated that the trials should be based on facts and the law, and that any organizations or individuals attempting to interfere with that should be banned.
After the trial, the judges privately admitted that they were manipulated by the 610 Office.