(Minghui.org) Four elderly Falun Gong practitioners were recently sent to two different prisons in Yunnan Province for exposing the persecution of their faith.
Falun Gong is a spiritual practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Also known as Falun Dafa, this meditation system has been persecuted in China since July 1999.
Mr. Liao Jianfu, 65, Mr. Fu Wende, 70, and Ms. Song Nanyu, 67, are residents of Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province. Mr. Zhou Fuming, in his 60s, lives less than 40 miles away in Huaping County, Yunnan Province. They were arrested around October 2016 after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials in Huaping County.
Their case was assigned to the judicial system in Yulong County, Lijiang City in Yunnan Province.
The Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) from Lijiang City threatened the four practitioners' attorneys before the trial. Mr. Fu's lawyer quit, but his two new lawyers entered a not-guilty plea for him. The other practitioners' lawyers entered guilty pleas as instructed by the PLAC, an extrajudicial agency tasked with eradicating Falun Gong and given power to override the judicial system.
The practitioners appeared in Yulong County Court on March 22, 2018. Mr. Fu's lawyers refuted the allegations against their client. They argued that the prosecution evidence was illegally acquired and should be inadmissible. They also pointed out that the prosecutor did not cite a valid statute or provide evidence to support the charges.
The practitioners also defended themselves.
A collegial panel composed of presiding judge He Ruiwei and judges He Fengsheng and Zhao Zerong sentenced the four practitioners to prison a few months after the court hearing.
Mr. Liao was given four years with a fine of 3,000 yuan, Ms. Song and Mr. Fu each received 3.5 years with a fine of 3,000 yuan, and Mr. Zhou was sentenced to two years and fined 2,000 yuan. They appealed to Lijiang City Intermediate Court, which upheld the original verdicts without holding a hearing.
The four practitioners, who were released on bail weeks after their 2016 arrest, were taken back into custody on July 10, 2018. On August 21, Ms. Song was sent to Yunnan Second Prison while the male practitioners were sent to Yunnan First Prison.
The imprisonment of the four practitioners put their families in dire straits. In particular, Mr. Zhou's wife has been bedridden all year long due to her illnesses, while Ms. Song's husband was half-paralyzed and could not take care of himself.
When Mr. Liao's family visited him in prison in September, they learned that he has been suffering from high blood pressure since he was taken back into custody on July 10. The family requested his release on medical parole, but officials have not responded thus far.
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