(Minghui.org) Four senior citizens who practice Falun Dafa were recently illegally sentenced to prison terms by the Gulou District Court in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province.
Ms. Zhao Fengran (70), arrested September 17, 2014. Sentenced to five years.Ms. Lin Meifang, arrested April 13, 2015. Sentenced to four years.Ms. Zhang Shuilian, arrested April 13, 2015. Sentenced to three years.Ms. Guo Bizhen (65), arrested August 20, 2015. Sentenced to three years.
They were all arrested for practicing Falun Dafa.
70-year-old Ms. Zhao's home was ransacked by the officers from the Huada Police Station on September 17, 2014. Practitioner Ms. Zhang Guilan was visiting her at the time and was also arrested. The police then ransacked Ms. Zhang Guilan’s home.
The two practitioners were detained at the Fuzhou No. 2 Detention Center. Ms. Zhang Guilan died on December 9, 2014, as a result of torture in the detention center.
Ms. Zhao has been detained for nearly two years. She was taken to the Fujian Women's Prison after being sentenced and was tortured.
She has become very thin and has the symptom of high blood pressure and diabetes.
Ms. Lin, Ms. Zhang and Ms. Wang Zhumei were arrested by officers from the Fuzhou City Domestic Security Division after being released on bail for a year.
Ms. Lin and Ms. Zhang's arrests were approved by the Gulou District Procuratorate. Ms. Wang was released, but is still under surveillance.
Gulou District Police Department submitted Ms. Lin and Ms. Zhang's cases to the Gulou District Procuratorate on April 29, 2015. The cases were returned to the police department twice on May 28 and June 20. They were then re-submitted to the Procuratorate on August 19, without any new evidence being added.
Ms. Lin and Ms. Zhang were secretly tried at Gulou District Court on October 29, 2015. Their family members weren't notified of the trial or the verdict. The judge was Zhuo Jianwei.
The two were sentenced on July 15, 2016.
Ms. Lin finally received the verdict on July 17, and was sentenced to four years imprisonment, while Ms. Zhang was sentenced to three years.
They have been held at the detention center for 15 months.
65-year-old Ms. Guo was arrested and detained by police while handing out Falun Gong related materials on August 25, 2015. Her case was accepted by the Gulou District Procuratorate on January 12, 2016, and she was tried at Gulou District Court on February 24.
Ms. Guo's attorney was informed that she had been sentenced to three years' imprisonment on July 22, 2016.
She has been detained at the Fuzhou City Second Detention Center for almost a year.