(Minghui.org) A resident of Lanzhou City, Gansu Province was sentenced to six years and fined 20,000 yuan on July 10, 2023 for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. Mr. Jiang Minghui, 50, has filed an appeal.
Mr. Jiang’s prison sentence stemmed from his arrest on August 4, 2021, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Officers Ma Zhanxian and Li Dong from the Tuanjiexincun Police Station led his arrest.
Mr. Jiang’s wife, Ms. Wang Xiaojing, received a call from officer Li two days later and was told that her husband had been put under criminal detention and charged with “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to indict Falun Gong practitioners.
After the Chengguan District Procuratorate approved Mr. Jiang’s arrest on August 20, Ms. Wang submitted a letter to officer Li, urging him and others involved in the case to release her husband. She argued that there is no law in China that says practicing Falun Gong is a crime and that the National Press and Publication Administration lifted the ban on Falun Gong publications in 2011. As such, the Falun Gong books and materials found in their home could not be used as evidence to prosecute Mr. Jiang.
Mr. Jiang’s wife, mother, and brother went to the police station and the procuratorate to seek his release. After learning that the police had officially submitted Mr. Jiang’s case on September 9, 2021, they submitted a letter to prosecutor Zhang Jing on September 13, urging her to dismiss Mr. Jiang’s case. Mr. Jiang was indicted anyway.
When Ms. Wang submitted her application to the court on September 6, 2022, to be Mr. Jiang’s family defender, judge Teng Xiaoqiong denied her request with the excuse that he had already appointed two lawyers to represent Mr. Jiang.
Ms. Wang wrote to one of the court-appointed lawyers, Ma Pengbin, of the Yuanchengtong Law Firm, telling him that she refused to acknowledge his legal representation of Mr. Jiang because she had already hired a lawyer. Ma responded that she didn’t have the authority to hire any lawyer herself and that he needed to hear from Mr. Jiang himself.
On March 28, 2023, judge Teng summoned Mr. Jiang and deceived him into signing the document accepting the two court-appointed lawyers.
Mr. Jiang’s wife later still managed to get permission to have lawyer Zhang Chuanli, of Beijing, to represent Mr. Jiang in court.
The Chengguan District Court held a hearing of Mr. Jiang’s case on April 7, 2023, and lawyer Zhang entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client and demanded an acquittal.
Lawyer Zhang received a copy of the court ruling on July 19, 2023. The verdict was dated July 10, 2023 and signed by judge Teng, who handed down a six-year prison sentence against Mr. Jiang.
A Prior 7-Year Prison Term
Mr. Jiang, a former deputy director of Lanzhou City Machinery Bureau, was previously arrested in December 2004 for distributing Falun Gong materials and sentenced to seven years by the Chengguan District Court in July 2005. He was fired by the Machinery Bureau and his ex-wife divorced him.
While serving time at the Lanzhou Prison, he was forced to do intensive unpaid labor, often peeling garlic for over ten hours a day. He had cuts all over his hands and the irritating odor and garlic juice only made the condition worse. After sitting in the humid and filthy room for a long time, he and many other inmates developed scabies all over their bodies.
Mr. Jiang was held in a solitary confinement cell for over 50 days in early 2007 and watched by four inmates. He was deprived of sleep and the guards always kept the light on during the night.
As he refused to renounce Falun Gong, he was held in solitary confinement again in March 2008. He was also subjected to close monitoring, sleep deprivation, and handcuffing. His family visitation was taken away as well.
After enduring years of brutal torture, Mr. Jiang was released in December 2011. He found a job in a private company and married again in August 2012.
Related Reports:
Having Served Seven Years for His Faith, Gansu Man Faces Prosecution Again
The Hidden Persecution Inside Lanzhou City Third Detention Center
Mr. Jiang Minghui Has Been Tortured for Two Years in Lanzhou Prison
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