(Minghui.org) The lower court and middle court in Heyuan City, Guangdong Province sentenced Ms. Yuan Qunrui to eight years in prison for practicing Falun Dafa and for being in possession of Falun Dafa books, printouts, etc.
Ms. Yuan Qunrui, 48, lives in the Yuancheng District, Heyuan of Guangdong Province. She was riding her motorcycle when she was intercepted by police officers near the gate of the Xinfengjiang Power Plant after 1:00 p.m. on October 27, 2012. The officers took away her motorcycle, cash and her home key, then searched her home when there was no one around. After her family members came home, they found that all of their cash and deposit certifications were gone, and they could not tell clearly how many other items were lost.
Wrongly Convicted
The Yuancheng District Court held a trial on January 15, 2013. The judge ignored all of the defense's appeal and sentenced Ms. Yuan to eight years in prison for carrying printouts with statements like “sincerely saying 'Falun Dafa is good,' will bring you peace and safety,” and “withdrawing from the CCP and its affiliations will save your life,” and taking part in Falun Gong activities.
Ms. Yuan stated that it is not a crime to practice Falun Gong and be a good person based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. She did not violate any law. She appealed to the higher court and hired lawyer Mr. Wang Yajun to make a plea of not guilty.
Officers Threaten to Arrest People Who Plan to Listen to the Trial
The second trial opened at 9:00 a.m. on April 11, 2013 at the Heyuan City Middle Court.
Family and friends of Ms. Yuan were informed to apply for attendance cards in advance with their IDs if they wanted to listen to the trial. By law, you can get an attendance card by showing your id at the scene.
Subsequently, the family and friends received threatening calls from the officers of the domestic security division. They were told not to attend the trial, and that anyone who went there would be arrested and lose his job.
The Domestic Security Division sent many plainclothes officers to the trial, and arranged many young men to occupy seats in the court room.
Defense Lawyer: Every Citizen Has Eight Basic Freedoms
Ms. Yuan's defense lawyer Mr. Wang Yajun made a plea of not guilty.
The defense lawyer said in the court that the Chinese Constitution grants its citizens eight basic freedoms, including freedom of belief, freedom of speech, freedom of publication, freedom of association, freedom of demonstration, etc. There has never been a law declaring that a citizen cannot practice Falun Dafa. The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) regulations and policies are not laws. The CCP does not have jurisdiction.
The defense lawyer questioned the officers from the domestic security division who unlawfully arrested Ms. Yuan and searched her without a warrant, took away her notebook computer which did not contain any illegal content, as well as her printer and other items. All of the items are normal household items. This demonstrates that the domestic security division and the 610 Office abused the law. Instead, prosecutor Chen Weijun used these items as evidence of a crime.
Middle Court Upholds Sentence
On May 13, 2013, the Heyuan Middle Court declared that it would uphold the unjust verdict.
The middle court verdict disclosed the persecution of Ms. Yuan. Ms. Yuan was detained for 15 days twice for practicing Falun Dafa on September 11, 1999 and in October 24, 1999; was subjected to one year of forced labor in October 1999; subjected to two years of forced labor for distributing Falun Dafa printouts on March 10, 2003; and detained for 15 days for talking to people about Falun Dafa on May 27, 2011.
The verdict listed the items that were taken away from Ms. Yuan's home as evidence of a crime: 20 Falun Dafa books, 2 notebook computers, 3 printers, 73 Falun Dafa pamphlets, 25 Falun Dafa posters, 1 picture, 64 Falun Dafa bookmarks, 403 Falun Dafa laser discs, 140 Falun Dafa printouts, 123 laser disc covers, 63 mini laser disc covers, 12 letters, 3 electronic printers, 23 mini lanterns, adhesive signs that read “Sincerely saying Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is good, will bring you peace and safety”, 140 talismans, 7 bottles of printer ink, plastic bags, carrying bags, sticks and 2,000 yuan cash.
The middle court treated the law as a joke by sentencing a woman to eight years for having these household items.
