(Minghui.org) Four women in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, were wrongfully convicted on February 11, 2025, for their shared faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Li Caiqiong, 62, was sentenced to 4.5 years, and Ms. Meng Qingsu received 3.5 years. Both were also fined 10,000 yuan. Ms. Tang Xingxiu was given 2.5 years with a 6,000-yuan fine. Ms. Jia Xingrong got 2 years with a 5,000-yuan fine.
The four practitioners were arrested at their respective homes on March 19, 2024, after they were reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials at multiple places in Chongzhou City (which is under the administration of Chengdu City) days earlier, on March 6, 12, 17, and 18. The Chongzhou City Police Department put them in the Chengdu City Detention Center.
The Chongzhou City Court held a hearing of the case on February 11, 2025. All four practitioners declined to use the court-appointed lawyers, who had been instructed to enter a guilty plea for them. Ms. Jia’s son served as her non-lawyer defender. Ms. Tang had a relative who requested to defend her but was barred from representing her.
The four practitioners testified in their defense but were constantly interrupted by the presiding judge. Ms. Jia’s son demanded to know what legal basis the prosecutor had to indict her and other practitioners. The prosecutor failed to produce any legal basis but insisted that the government had long determined the illegality of Falun Gong. As a matter of fact, no law in China has ever criminalized Falun Gong.
The judge proceeded to sentence all four practitioners to prison before ending the hearing. Prior to her latest persecution, Ms. Li was given two years of forced labor in 2000, sentenced to four years in prison in 2003, and another eight years in 2008. Ms. Meng was previously jailed for seven years (2015 – 2022).
Related Report:
Sichuan Authorities Threaten to "Red-flag" Falun Gong Practitioner's Health Code
All content published on this website is copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
