(Minghui.org) On the morning of July 17, 2012, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Xiu Li from Guanghan City was sentenced to a four-and-a-half year prison term by the Jinniu District Court of Chengdu. Ms. Xiu believes that practicing Falun Gong and clarifying the facts about the persecution are not wrong or illegal, and she contends that she is not guilty of any crime. She expressed to the court that she will appeal to the Intermediate Court.

Ms. Xiu Li, 53, was an accountant for the Foreign Economic and Trade Commission of Guanghan City. After she began practicing Falun Gong in 1997, all her illnesses, including vertigo and breast cancer, disappeared.

The Chinese Communist Party started persecuting Falun Gong in July 1999. Ms. Xiu has since suffered tremendous persecution. In November 2004, she was illegally arrested and sentenced to three years in prison. She was subsequently dismissed from her job. After her release, she worked as an accountant in a private company in Chengdu City that made healthcare products.

In June 2011, Ms. Xiu, along with two other practitioners Qiu Yan and Liu Xiaohong, were arrested in Jinniu District by officers led by Liao Hai from the Xian Police Station. The District Court of Jinniu held two hearings against Ms. Xiu, on May 10 and July 2, 2012.

Ms. Xiu defended herself in a trial on July 17, 2012 by arguing that speaking out for freedom of speech on the Internet does not constitute a crime. Prosecutor Qin Zonglong, presiding judge Huang Chenggang, assistant judge Li Xue, and two other court clerks ignored her argument. They forced her to sign the so-called judgment letter. Ms. Xiu told them that she would appeal to the Intermediate Court.

Xiu Li's relatives said to the court officers, “This was an opportunity for you to promote justice, but you chose not to make a fair ruling. In the face of such culprits as Jiang Zemin, Zhou Yongkang, and Bo Xilai, who have persecuted Falun Gong, and will soon be tried, you still chose to stand on the side of the evil.” The court officials bowed their heads in silence and slipped out of the courtroom. There were about 20 people in the court who heard Ms. Xiu's defense statement.

On July 30, Ms. Xiu's relatives went to ask the assistant judge Li Xue about the appeal. Li said that the appeal letter was mailed to the Intermediate Court of Chengdu, and told them to inquire with the Court on August 6. When Ms. Xiu's relatives went to the Intermediate Court on that day, they were told that the appeal letter was submitted to the hand of a judge named Huang. When Ms. Xiu's relatives called Huang's office, no one answered. The court clerk refused to give Huang's cell phone number to them.

Departments involved in the persecution:
Xian Police Station of Chengdu
Police officers, Liao Hai: +86-18982236896 (Cell), Zhang Xuelin: +86-15308030328 (Cell)
Intermediate Court of Chengdu
Personnel who took over Ms. Xiu's case: Judge Huang
Niu Min, dean: +86-15982163904(Cell), email: cdfy_yz@chinacourt.org
Jinniu District Court: +86-28-87610816
Wang Chenyi, president
Huang Chenggang, presiding judge
Li Xue, assistant judge: +86-28-87616794

Please refer to the original Chinese text for more names and telephone numbers.