(Minghui.org) A judge recently sentenced three residents in Yingcheng City to prison for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since July 1999.

Mr. Xiong Jiwei received 4.5 years and was fined 5,000 yuan. Mr. Xiong Wenzhi and Mr. Wang Gangqiang were both sentenced to two years and fined 3,000 yuan.

It has been confirmed that Mr. Xiong Jiwei has filed an appeal. Mr. Xiong Wenzhi (not related to Mr. Xiong Jiwei) and Mr. Wang was taken to Xiaogan Prison on October 17, 2018.

The verdicts of the practitioners came shortly after they appeared separately before Judge Yang Yaolong at Anlu City Court on September 19, 2018. Their hearings were held back to back, starting at 8:30 a.m., 10:30 am and 3:00 p.m.

All three practitioners were charged with “undermining law enforcement using a cult organization,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime to persecute Falun Gong practitioners.

Their respective lawyers entered not-guilty pleas for them despite threats from the local bar association and law firms that prohibit their lawyers from defending Falun Gong practitioners' innocence.

The lawyers argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that their clients were merely exercising their constitutionally protected freedom of belief in practicing Falun Gong.

Mr. Xiong Jiwei also testified that he practices Falun Gong to improve his health and become a better person and that he caused no harm to anyone. He also pointed out that Falun Gong is not on the list of cults published by the Ministry of Public Security and that the charges associated with cult organizations do not apply to him.

Unable to refute his argument, Judge Yang stopped him from talking whenever he mentioned Falun Gong again.

Mr. Xiong Jiwei and Mr. Xiong Wenzhi had both requested to have one family member testify in their defense, but Judge Yang rejected their request and only allowed the two family members to observe the trials without defending them.

Most of the practitioners' other family members and friends who traveled hours to attend the trials were blocked outside of the court. Mr. Wang's elderly parents waited outside under 95-degree heat until the hearings ended.

The three practitioners were arrested on November 7, 2017. The police put them in criminal detention on December 22 after detaining them at Banqiao Brainwashing Center for a month. Their cases were submitted to Yingcheng City Procuratorate on January 23, 2018, which approved their arrests later that day.

Previous report:Two Practitioners in Hubei Province Arrested and Tortured on Tiger Bench for Over 20 Hours

Related Article in Chinese:湖北汪刚强等三名法轮功学员遭非法庭审