(Minghui.org) Shijiazhuang City (the capital of Hebei Province) last year designated its Qiaoxi District to handle all Falun Gong cases in its jurisdiction, including eight districts, two county-level cities, and twelve counties.
The Qiaoxi District Procuratorate and the Qiaoxi District Court have since prosecuted many Falun Gong cases. In the first half of 2023 alone, the Qiaoxi District Court has sentenced one practitioner and is in the process of issuing rulings to six other practitioners after holding trials for their cases.
Falun Gong is a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
One Sentenced
Ms. Ma Yinhuan, of Chang’an District, Shijiazhuang City, was arrested on May 1, 2022, after a surveillance camera recorded her hanging a banner bearing Falun Gong messages. The Huanghe Boulevard Police Station officer raided her home.
Ms. Ma went on a hunger strike for more than fifty days at the Shijiazhuang Second Detention Center. She fell into critical condition at one point.
Prosecutor Yan Hongyan of the Qiaoxi District Procuratorate indicted her and judge Yue Hongli of the Qiaoxi District Court tried her on January 18, 2023. She was soon sentenced to ten months and fined 10,000 yuan.
Ms. Ma has been released after serving her time. She is currently awaiting results of her appeal filed with the Shijiazhuang City Intermediate Court.
Six Tried and Awaiting Verdict
Six other practitioners have also been tried by the Qiaoxi District Court in the first half of 2023 and they are still awaiting verdicts at the time of writing.
Mother and Daughter Arrested Together
Ms. Liu Peng and her daughter, Ms. Wang Bingcheng, were arrested at their shared home in Chang’an District, Shijiazhuang City, by more than ten officers on October 9, 2021. The police interrogated them at a hotel for a few days.
Prosecutor Li Sujuan of the Qiaoxi District Procuratorate indicted the mother and daughter duo. Judge Li Lixin of the Qiaoxi District Court initially barred their family-defender from representing them in court, but he relented after the family defender filed a complaint against him.
During the court hearing on March 14, 2023, the defense attorney requested that judge Li be recused from the case. He adjourned the session immediately and rescheduled the hearing for April 13. Ms. Liu and Ms. Wang’s family defender and lawyer entered not guilty pleas for them during the second hearing. The mother and daughter also testified in their own defense.
Three Other Practitioners Arrested on Same Day
Ms. Pu Xingchi, an art teacher around 46 years old, lives in the Qiaoxi District, Shijiazhuang City. She was arrested at home on January 23, 2022 while giving online classes to her students. The police harassed her prior to the arrest.
Ms. Liu Shunzhi, of Luancheng District, and Ms. Liang Yening were arrested at their respective homes at around the same time as Ms. Pu.
Each practitioner saw more than a dozen plainclothes officers break in their homes. The police put black hoods over the women’s heads and threatened their family members to not disclose their arrests.
Prosecutor Yan Hongyan of the Qiaoxi District Procuratorate indicted the three practitioners and judge Xu Lina of the Qiaoxi District Court tried them on February 24, 2023.
Procuratorate Ignores Lawyers’ Request to Dismiss Case
Ms. Hu Yuexia, of Qiaoxi District, was arrested in Luquan District, Shijiazhuang City, on May 18, 2022 after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials there. The police soon arrived and arrested her after discovering Falun Gong informational materials in her bag.
At around noon that day, five officers from Shangzhuang Police Station raided her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books.
After the Luquan District Procuratorate forwarded her case to the Qiaoxi District Procuratorate, her two lawyers submitted a request to have her case dismissed.
Prosecutor Zhang Shiyao ignored the lawyers and indicted her. Judge Zheng Lijun of the Qiaoxi District Court held two hearings of her case, on February 14, 2023 and June 14, 2023, respectively.
The prosecution evidence against Ms. Hu included the Falun Gong materials confiscated from her during her arrest and later from her home. The lawyers argued that the ban on Falun Gong publications had long been lifted in 2011 and thus it was totally lawful for her to own and distribute Falun Gong materials.
Many More Sentenced by Same Court in the Past
Long before it was designated to handle all Falun Gong cases in Shijiazhuang, the Qiaoxi District Court had been actively carrying out the communist regime’s persecution policy.
Besides Ms. Ma Yinhuan, the court has sentenced at least 36 other local Falun Gong practitioners over the years, including Xu Xinmu, Zhao Lishan, Zhang Shijun, Niu Mingang, Yang Xiaojie, Lan Qizhi, Shi Yan, Zhang Lingjiang, Liu Runling, Wang Yunman, Wei Tianchen, He Lanhua, Wu Suqiu, Bai Yuzhi, Wang Yinke, He Dong, Liu Jiting, Shi Xiangdong, Liu Xin, Shi Sugai, Jia Xuefeng, Jin Ying, Song Aichang, Chen Tiankui, Yang Huizhou, Hu Yanxia, Wang Xiaofeng, Yan Ruimin, Zhang Yingtong, Yang Huanping, Li Huiyun, Li Dongmei, Geng Shulan, Zhang Yun, Ma Surui and Chen Xianhua.
The sentenced practitioners came from all walks of life, including government officials, civil servants, engineers, professors, doctors, police officers, and business managers.
Related Reports:
Ms. Ma Yinhuan on Hunger Strike for 50 Days and Counting
Hebei Woman in Serious Condition After Being on Hunger Strike for 30 Days and Counting
Two Women on Hunger Strike for 20 Days and Counting to Protest Arbitrary Arrests
Two Women Detained for Their Faith, in Serious Condition after Days of Hunger Strike
Fifteen Falun Dafa Practitioners Tortured in Shijiazhuang City's Second Detention Center
Art Teacher Detained for Three Months and Counting for Practicing Falun Gong
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