(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li Meizhen from Shanghai was illegally arrested on August 2, 2012, and secretly sentenced to four years in prison by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The authorities never notified her family of the proceedings against Ms. Li.
On the morning of August 2, 2012, practitioners Li Meizhen, Rong Huijun and Zhai Qiaoying were reported in Shanghai while clarifying the truth of Falun Gong in Xuhui District. They were arrested by police from the Tianlin New Village Police Station in Xuhui District, Shanghai, and detained in the Xuhui Detention Center in Shanghai.
On January 6, 2013, Li Meizhen's family received a phone call from an attorney who said that Ms. Li Meizhen was very well and that the family should not worry. But because they had not hired an attorney for Ms. Li, they realized that the attorney had been assigned internally by the local court.
In February 2013, the family called the attorney's cell phone number many times to get more information about Ms. Li; however, the attorney did not answer or return any of their calls.
After a long time without any news of Ms. Li, her family began to worry. On February 21, 2013, they went to the Xuhui Detention Center to ask about her. Finally a kind-hearted person told them that Ms. Li had been secretly sentenced to prison with a term of four years.
A family member asked, "Why did you sentence her? She is innocent of any crime, and who gave you the right to sentence her?" The staff from the detention center said, "She is still in the Xuhui Detention Center, but under the charge of the Xuhui Court. She has appealed the sentence. You should ask the court."
Ms. Li's family member went straight to the Xuhui Court in Shanghai and asked, "How could you secretly sentenced a citizen without notifying her family members, especially since she has done nothing wrong?" A staff member replied, "She appealed; what could I do?" They also said that since she refused to be sent to forced labor, she was sentenced to prison directly. They were told that if there were any further questions, the family should ask the higher authorities in the system, because they were the ones who directed the proceedings and outcome. After that meeting no more information was given.
Li Meizhen's family feels that since she was sentenced like this, the other two practitioners could suffer the same persecution as well. Her family is extremely worried about her.
The family could only find contact information for a few of the officials who have participated in the persecution of Ms. Li:
Tianlin New Village Police Station in Shanghai: 86-21-64366396/86-21-64754402; Director: Cao Xinping
Xuhui Court in Shanghai: 86-21-64680966;
Director: Guo Weiqing
The court-appointed lawyer is Xu Dexue, from the Huaxia Law Firm in Xuhui, Shanghai; cell phone: 13918165328
