(Minghui.org) Since the Chinese communist regime launched the persecution against Falun Gong in July 1999, the Pengjiang District Court in Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province, has handed heavy sentences to a dozen Falun Gong practitioners. At least ten were given more than seven years in prison and fined over 50,000 yuan.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body practice that has been targeted by the Chinese communist regime since July 1999.
Below are snapshots of the persecution the twelve faced:
Two Practitioners Sentenced Together
Mr. Liu Binglin, 53, was sentenced to ten years in prison on May 7, 2010 for talking to people about Falun Gong. He was released from Sihui Prison in April 2017.
Ms. Chen Limei, 46, was sentenced to nine years on May 7, 2010 and taken to Guangdong Women’s Prison. She was released in February 2016.
Couple Sentenced to a Total of 17 Years
Mr. Jiang Xiaoming was a worker at Asset Protection Division of the Jiangmen City Division of the China Construction Bank, while his wife, Ms. Guo Changwei, worked for the service company for the same bank division. The couple went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, first in July 2000 and then in October 2000. They were given two years of forced labor, and Ms. Guo was brutally tortured at the Sanshui Women’s Labor Camp.
The couple were at Wuyi University talking to people about Falun Gong when they were arrested on October 18, 2004. After more than a year of incarceration at the Jiangmen Detention Cente, Mr. Jiang was sentenced to seven years and Ms. Guo to ten years.
Couple Handed Heavy Terms and Fined 55,000 Yuan
Mr. Yu Rongxin was arrested on September 18, 2017, and his wife Ms. Xie Qing was arrested three days later. Both of them were held at Jiangmen City Detention Center, while their teenage son was left alone at home.
The police submitted the couple’s case to Jiangmen City Procuratorate on June 28, 2018, and it was moved to Pengjiang District Court on July 31.
The couple appeared in court on September 11. Their lawyer defended their innocence.
On December 28, without informing the couple’s lawyer or their family, the court secretly sentenced them to prison. Mr. Yu was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison and fined 30,000 yuan. Ms. Xie was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years and fined 25,000 yuan. The couple appealed to the Jiangmen Intermediate Court, but their original sentences were upheld. Their families were not notified.
Mr. Yu is currently incarcerated in the Beijiang Prison, while Ms. Xie is incarcerated in the Guangdong Women’s Prison.
Woman Sentenced to Eight Years
Ms. Zeng Weiying, 48, was arrested for raising awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong.
Eight officers broke into Ms. Zeng’s home in the countryside on May 14, 2019 and arrested her. Without showing a search warrant, they confiscated her Falun Gong books, informational materials and a tablet. Hours later, the police broke into her other residence in Shaping Town and ransacked the place.
The next day, Ms. Zeng’s parents were summoned by the police and interrogated. The police attempted to extort dozens of thousands of yuan from them, but relented upon finding that they couldn’t afford to pay it.
The police later submitted Ms. Zeng’s case to the Pengjiang District Procuratorate. On December 4, 2019, she was sentenced to eight years and fined 30,000 yuan by the Pengjiang District Court.
Man Sentenced to Eight Years and Fined 30,000 Yuan
Mr. Wang Bin was arrested on May 22, 2017 and detained at Jiangmeng Detention Center. He was forced to take a physical examination in the detention center. He was forced to wear several heavy shackles, which forced his feet 30 inches apart. Police demanded that he climb stairs without removing the shackles. His feet bled and he suffered serious injuries.
His arrest was approved on June 28, 2017, and he was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined 30,000 yuan in 2018 on charges that he shared information about Falun Gong on China’s most popular social media platform WeChat with Vivo and ZTE cellphones and distributed software to break through China’s internet censorship.
Mr. Wang appealed to Jiangmen Intermediate Court but the verdict was upheld on March 6, 2019.
Mr. Wang started to practice Falun Gong in 1996. Because he refused to give up Falun Gong after the persecution started in China, he was followed, monitored and harassed. He was given a three-year term in the Sanshui Labor Camp in 2000 for distributing brochures that exposed the persecution of Falun Gong.
He was held in the Sanshui Brainwashing Center for six months in 2006 for talking to people about Falun Gong.
Woman Sentenced to Eight Years, Appeal Rejected
Ms. Li Aiqun started practicing Falun Gong in 1996 and recovered from many illnesses, including severe rhinitis, migraine, dizziness.
On October 23, 2012, Ms. Li was arrested from her home. Another practitioner, Ms. Feng Qifeng, was also arrested. Both practitioners appeared in court on July 31, 2013 with their two lawyers defending their innocence. The practitioners also defended themselves and requested to be released unconditionally.
On November 26, 2013, Ms. Li was sentenced to eight years and Ms. Feng to three years. Their appealed but the Jiangmen Intermediate Court upheld the verdict.
Woman Sentenced to 7.5 Years and Fined 20,000 Yuan
In February 2018, after Falun Gong DVDs were found in several places in Pengjiang District, the police suspected that it was Ms. Qu Huaying who distributed them and arrested her on March 21. Her arrest was approved on April 21.
The Pengjiang District Court sentenced Ms. Qu to seven-and-a-half years in prison and fined her 20,000 yuan. She appealed against the verdict but the Jiangmen Intermediate Court rejected it on March 4, 2019.
Having Been Incarcerated for Three Years, Woman Sentenced Again
Ms. Liang Qiuchang, a 51-year-old hair salon owner, was arrested on July 14, 2020, while distributing informational materials about Falun Gong in a residential area. The police took her back home in the afternoon and searched her residence without a search warrant. A Falun Gong keepsake was found and taken away. She was held at the Xinhui District Detention Center. Her arrest was approved on August 21.
Ms. Liang was tried by the Pengjiang District Court on May 28, 2021. She was sentenced to five years and fined 10,000 yuan.
Ms. Liang has been arrested multiple times since she took up Falun Gong in 2000. She was first arrested on the evening of September 13, 2004, for distributing materials about Falun Gong and given one year of forced labor.
Ms. Liang was arrested again on October 16, 2016, and was tried by the Xinhui District Court on September 28, 2017, and sentenced to two years with a 6,000-yuan fine. She was released in October 2018.
Woman Sentenced to Five Years After Police Suspected Her of Producing Falun Gong Materials
Ms. Tang Yanlan, 49, was arrested and had her home ransacked on April 22, 2019. The police suspected her of buying a computer, printer, and printing paper to produce Falun Gong informational materials at home. She was detained at the Jiangmen City Detention Center.
In September 2020, Ms. Tang was sentenced to five years and fined 10,000 yuan. She appealed against the verdict but the Jiangmen Intermediate Court upheld it on December 24, 2020.
Ms. Tang was previously arrested on June 28, 2015 and detained for one month. She was arrested again on July 5, 2017, and detained for fifteen days.
Parties involved in the persecution:Lin Qinwen (林侵稳), deputy chief of criminal court at Pengjiang District Court: +86-135-34778193Li Lei (李磊), deputy chief of criminal court at Pengjiang District Court: +86-180-26767633Zou Juntao (邹俊涛), chief of public prosecution section: +86-138-22338976
(More participants in the persecution contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)
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