(Minghui.org) A Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province resident was sentenced to five years for her faith in Falun Gong. Her family is appealing the verdict on her behalf.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Sun Lijuan was arrested at home on April 25, 2021, by the local police and their counterparts from Jiaozuo City, Henan Province, after being reported by the internet police in Jiaozuo for posting information about Falun Gong on WeChat. None of the more than 20 officers who showed up at her home wore police uniforms or showed their IDs.
The police ransacked Ms. Sun’s home and confiscated over 40 Falun Gong books, a computer, four cellphones, and 3,700 yuan in cash. The police refused to provide a list of confiscated items. They continued to search the place after Ms. Sun and her husband Mr. Zhang Baoguo were taken away.
While Mr. Zhang was released on bail after 37 days at the Jinzhou Detention Center, Ms. Sun remains in custody at the Jinzhou City Women’s Detention Center. The Jiaozuo City Domestic Security Office later transferred Ms. Sun’s case to the Linghe Police Station in Jinzhou, which then submitted her case to the Linghai City Procuratorate, with the charge of “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong practitioners.
The procuratorate approved Ms. Sun’s arrest on June 4 and indicted her on September 2. Ms. Sun was tried at home through a video conference by the Linghai City Court on November 11. Her lawyer Zhang Chuanli and her son, who acted as her non-lawyer defender, entered a not-guilty plea for her.
The lawyer pointed out that prosecutor Guo Baoguang failed to explain how Ms. Sun undermined law enforcement as alleged in the indictment. Guo remained silent to most of the lawyer’s questions. He suggested at the end of the hearing that judge Xu Bing sentence Ms. Sun to five years with a fine.
Ms. Sun’s family was notified on November 29 that she was sentenced to five years with a 10,000-yuan fine. They are now appealing the verdict with the Jinzhou City Intermediate Court.
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