(Minghui.org) A 49-year-old woman in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province was sentenced to three years and fined 5,000 yuan on August 11, 2023 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Jin Yijun used to work at a law firm, but could no longer practice law after the Lanzhou City Judicial Bureau refused to renew her law license in 2013 because of her faith in Falun Gong. She was arrested on September 24, 2021 and stood trial on April 7, 2023, before being wrongfully convicted on August 11.
Ms. Jin has filed an appeal with the Lanzhou City Intermediate Court and is currently awaiting a ruling at the Lanzhou City No. 1 Detention Center, where at least twelve other local practitioners are still being held for practicing Falun Gong. More specifically,
Ms. Zhang Ping was sentenced to six years and is appealing her verdict.Ms. Xie Guifang is serving a five-year term.Ms. Li Ya was sentenced to four and a half years and will finish her term in November this year.Ms. Cui Jianping was sentenced to four years and is appealing her case.Ms. Zhou Yuezhen was sentenced to 3.5 years and is appealing her case.Ms. Yang Hui was sentenced to one year and four month and is set to be released in October this year.Ms. Cui Chengxiang is awaiting a verdict after two court hearings in June 2022 and March 17, 2023, respectively.Ms. Liu Guifang was indicted and is facing trial.Ms. Wang Lin, Ms. Qi Yulian, Ms. Liu Yuanqiu and her daughter Ms. Liu Lei are facing indictment.
Another practitioner, Ms. Wei Zhouxiang, was transferred from the detention center to the Gansu Province Women’s Prison in September 2023 to serve a 3.5-year term.
Ms. Jin Arrested and Tortured
Ms. Jin lives in Gongda Community in Qilihe District, Lanzhou City. On September 10, 2021, Ba Juanjuan, the Gongda Community secretary, noted that four Falun Gong-smearing poster boards in the community were gone. She checked the surveillance videos and saw that Ms. Jin took the elevator at around 5 a.m. on that day. She thus suspected Ms. Jin of removing the poster boards and reported her to the local Xiaoxihu Police Station. Two weeks later, on September 24, Ba accompanied officer Feng Yuchen and arrested Ms. Jin at home.
Feng took Ms. Jin to the Qilihe District Lockup, where she was kept for seven days before being transferred to the Lanzhou City No. 1 Detention Center on October 2, 2021.
At the Lanzhou City No. 1 Detention Center, because Ms. Jin refused to memorize the detention center rules or squat during roll calls, captain Li Peng had her one hand twisted behind her back, to be cuffed together with another hand pulled over her shoulder (see image below). She was handcuffed like this for 15 straight days, during which time she was deprived of sleep and subjected to regular beatings. Whenever she dozed off, each inmate would use their own way to keep her awake, such as pulling her hair or kicking her. With her hands cuffed, she had to rely on the inmates to get water for her to drink. Twice she requested water, but the inmates refused on the grounds that she had missed the specific times to make water requests. She was unable to brush her teeth, wash her hair or clothes during the 15 days, as no inmates were allowed to help her.
Torture reenactment: hands cuffed behind one’s back
The head of the cell had other detainees beat Ms. Jin on December 27, 2022 because she did not squat during a roll call. The head guard saw the beating but ignored it because he was told that the victim was a Falun Gong practitioner. Ms. Jin was transferred to another cell and subjected to the “Back Tandem” torture.
Illustration of the “Back Tandem” torture
In the “Back Tandem” torture, the guards handcuff the victim’s wrists behind her back, make her kneel down, and attach the handcuffs as close as possible to the ankle shackles. This forces the victim to stay in a kneeling, backward-bending position.
Ms. Jin was forced to wear leg shackles for 15 consecutive days and was not allowed to sleep. She was not allowed to lower her head or close her eyes. Other detainees could beat her at will. No one helped her to get water, and she had no way to wash up, clean herself, or wash her clothes. Yet the inmates berated her for smelling bad. Sometimes they would not even give her any drinking water.
Indictment and Trial
Officer Feng, along with his chief Wang Jifei and instructor Wang Fangxiong, submitted Ms. Jin’s case to the Qilihe District Procuratorate based on the following three pieces of evidence: 1) the authentication report of the elevator video footage issued by the Gansu University of Political Science and Law Forensic Center [it’s unclear though what conclusion was drawn, as the video only showed Ms. Jin taking the elevator, not removing the poster boards as Ba had alleged]; 2) Ms. Jin’s one-year labor camp term given in 2012; and 3) her 15-day detention following an arrest on May 13, 2021.
Prosecutor Zhang Jingrong of the Qilihe District Procuratorate forwarded the case to the Chengguan District Procuratorate on December 30, 2021. Prosecutors Zhang Qiongying and Cao Huan indicted Ms. Jin and forwarded her case to the Chengguan District Court on April 22, 2022.
Ms. Jin appeared in the Chengguan District Court on April 7, 2023. Still recovering from torture in custody, she collapsed into a chair as soon as she was brought into the courtroom.
Judge Liu Dongyu presided over the trial. Judges Jin Jiyong, Teng Xiaoqiong, and Ma Xinyan, clerk Li Jiangtao, and prosecutor Zhang Qiongying were present.
Prosecutor Zhang charged Ms. Jin with using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement, a standard pretext used by the communist regime to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.
Ms. Jin remained exhausted and weak throughout the one-and-a-half-hour-long session, but still managed to testify in her own defense. She refuted the allegations against her and challenged prosecutor Zhang to specify which law she had allegedly undermined and what harm she had allegedly caused to what persons. Zhang was unable to answer her questions and read the list of the police-supplied evidence three times instead.
Ms. Jin’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her and demanded her acquittal. The court still sentenced her on August 11, and she soon filed an appeal with the Lanzhou City Intermediate Court, which assigned judge Ma Yan to handle the case.
Related reports:
Gansu Woman Tortured in Custody, Awaits Prison Sentence for Practicing Falun Gong
Former Lawyer Faces Prosecution for Her Faith
Former Legal Professional Sues Jiang Zemin for Wrongful Imprisonment
Law Professional Jin Yijun Sent to a Forced Labor Camp
Law Professional Jin Yijun Appeals Forced Labor Sentence
Legal Professional Ms. Jin Yijun from Lanzhou City Files Case Against Her Forced Labor Sentence
Attorney Enters a Not-Guilty Plea in the Appeal Case of Ms. Jin Yijun from Lanzhou City
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