(Minghui.org) One year after five Falun Gong practitioners were arrested for talking to people about the persecution of their spiritual faith by the Communist regime, one of them is still detained. A court trial of three practitioners was scheduled for August 9, 2017. The outcome of the trial is unknown at the time of writing.
The five practitioners, Ms. Qin Dafen and her husband Mr. Xie Zhizhong, Ms. Wen Bangyu, Ms. Tang Mei and Ms. Ye Wenhua, all from Chongqing, were arrested on July 11, 2016. The police raided their homes and confiscated computers, any Falun Gong-related items and many other valuable personal belongings.
Ms. Qin and Mr. Xie were brought to the Chayuan Police Station that evening. They were shackled to a chair and interrogated for 28 hours. Mr. Xie was later transferred to the Wuzun Brainwashing Center and Ms. Qin was brought to the Chongqing No.1 Detention Center, where she remains incarcerated.
Ms. Qin has been denied family visitation since her detention. Her family wasn't even allowed to send her clothes. After three months of detention, she became very weak and her vision was blurred.
Under extreme pressure, Mr. Xie signed a statement renouncing Falun Gong at the brainwashing center and was released on August 9, 2016. The police still harass him at home regularly.
Ms. Wen Bangyu, Ms. Tang Mei and Ms. Ye Wenhua have been released due to health reasons. Ms. Wen is currently under house arrest. Ms. Ye's case was handled separately from the other practitioners due to her advanced age.
Three practitioners, Ms. Qin Dafen, Ms. Wen Bangyu and Ms. Tang Mei, were tried by the Nan'an District Court for the first time on June 22, 2017 after the procuratorate twice returned the case to the police for more evidence. The judge interrupted the lawyer's defense and abruptly adjourned the trial within less than 30 minutes. Ms. Qin was handcuffed during the entire trial.
The three practitioners' lawyer received a notice from the court in early August that the second trial was scheduled on August 9, with a very limited number of people allowed to attend the trial. The outcome of the trial was not available at the time of writing.
Contact information of responsible parties:
Chayuan Police Station: +86-23-62456110Ding Xiaowei (丁晓微), prosecutor at Nan'an District Procuratorate: +86-23-61753300, +86-23-61753342Shen Ning (沈宁), presiding judge, Nan'an District Court: +86-23-81155132Chongqing No.1 Detention Center: +86-23-67086140
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