(Minghui.org) A 71-year-old Handan City, Hebei Province resident was sentenced to three years in prison on March 24, 2023 for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Ji Ruiling was arrested while working in the security office in a local hospital on July 18, 2022. The police took him to his home for a raid, confiscating his four cellphones, a computer and a printer.
When his wife returned home in the afternoon from grocery shopping, she was shocked to see the mess at home. She thought it was a burglary and called the police, only to be told that it was the result of a police raid. She then demanded the return of the confiscated items, but the police refused.
That same day, at least another eight local practitioners were arrested, per an order from the Handan Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the 610 Office.
Mr. Ji’s family received a call from one of his lawyers on February 27, 2023, who informed them of his hearing at the Feixiang District Court the next day. The lawyer said he had just received notification from the presiding judge, Liu Yanfeng, before he called the family. Liu never informed Mr. Ji’s family of the hearing.
When Mr. Ji’s family and his two lawyers arrived at the court the next morning, the judge suddenly told them that the hearing had been changed to the Fuxing District Court, about 30 miles away.
After the family finally arrived at the Fuxing District Court, the judge announced that only two of Mr. Ji’s family members were allowed to attend the session. Mr. Ji’s lawyers strongly demanded that the judge add one more slot, but to no avail. His wife and one son attended the hearing in the end.
When one of the lawyers talked to Mr. Ji before the hearing started, he was surprised to learn that Mr. Ji wasn’t notified of the hearing until that morning, which violated the minimum three days advance notice required by law.
The judge questioned Mr. Ji as to whether he agreed with the charge against him, namely, “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to frame Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Ji responded that he hadn’t violated any law or undermined any law enforcement. He said that he merely wanted to be a good person by practicing Falun Gong and that he never harmed anyone or anything by practicing his faith.
The judge announced his verdict on March 24, 2023.
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