(Minghui.org) The review of an appeal filed by Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Leng Xuefei, Ms. Xiang Biyun, Ms. Guo Lamei and Ms. Zhao Fengxia, took place at Yiyang Intermediate Court in Hunan Province on June 6, 2014. The presiding judge will make the decision at a later date.
This second trial was originally scheduled for May 7, 2014, after the practitioners appealed their sentencing at the Taojiang County Court in October 2013.
During the hearing, the four appellants stated that they are not guilty of any crime for practicing Falun Gong. They informed the court that officers from the Taojiang County Police Department fingerprinted them and forced them to slander Falun Gong. The attorneys pleaded “not guilty” on behalf of the practitioners. Close to 50 relatives and friends attended the court proceedings.
Ms. Leng, Ms. Xiang, Ms. Guo and Ms. Zhao were illegally arrested by officers from the Taojiang County Domestic Security Division and Dasugang Police Station on May 5, 2013, for distributing truth clarification materials the previous day. They were taken to the Yiyang City No. 2 Detention Center a few days later.
The practitioners were tried and sentenced on October 17, 2013. Ms. Leng, Ms. Xiang and Ms. Guo were sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Ms. Zhao was sentenced to two years. They all appealed the sentence to the Yiyang Intermediate Court.
Ms. Leng Xuefei, 51, used to work at the Chenglingji Grain Warehouse in Yueyang City. Before being sentenced in 2013, she had been arrested and detained four times between 1999 and 2010. She has been tortured physically and mentally during her detention.
In July 2000, Ms. Leng was taken to a forced labor camp for one year, but was kept there for another year. When she was released in 2002, she found out that due to pressure from the authorities, her husband had divorced her and her son had moved in with his father.
As Ms. Leng refused to renounce her belief in Falun Gong, she was wanted by the Yueyang City Police Department. To avoid being arrested she had to leave home for several years.
Officers from the Qianlianghu Police Station in Yueyang arrested Ms. Leng on June 5, 2006. She was sentenced at the Junshan District Court to four years in prison in November 2006.
Parties involved in the persecution of the four practitioners:Hu Fengliang (胡鳳良), deputy head of Taojiang County Domestic Security Division: +86-15807378488 (Cell)Tao Jihui (陶吉輝), head of Dasugang Police Station: +86-18673708657 (Cell)Cao Chunyun (曹春雲), deputy head of Dasugang Police Station: +86-13874318411 (Cell)Chen Dayei (陳大意), instructor at Dasugang Police Station: +86-13511108188 (Cell)Wang Xiaoling (王小玲), presiding judge at Taojiang County Court: +86-15807378989 (Cell)Fang Huatang (方華堂), head of Yueyang City Police Department: +86-15207372088 (Cell)
Earlier reports:Four Falun Gong practitioners from Yiyang City, Hunan Province, Facing Second Trial
Ms. Leng Xuefei from Yueyang City Becomes Homeless to Avoid Persecution