(Minghui.org) A judge in Junan County recently tried two teachers within a three week period for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual belief that is persecuted in China since 1999. Both were tried under the generic charge of “using a cult to undermine law enforcement.” One was sentenced to three years, while the other has not yet been given a verdict.
Judge Yan Ruhua tried Mr. Fu Tingfa in the Junan County Court on March 17, 2016. Mr. Fu's lawyer pleaded not guilty for his client and demanded that he be released immediately.
Instead, Mr. Fu was given a guilty verdict on April 1, two weeks after the trial, and sentenced to a three year prison term. His family filed an appeal with the Linyi Intermediate Court.
Mr. Fu is still being held in the Junan County Detention Center, where he had been held since his arrest, seven months ago. This has passed the legally allowed detention period.
This is not his first imprisonment since Falun Gong was banned in 1999. He was tortured in the Zhangqiu Forced Labor Camp in 2010 for refusing to give up Falun Gong. As a result of the beatings, his retina became detached.
Yan Ruhua, the same judge who tried Mr. Fu, also tried Ms. Liu Huaixia (also known as Ms. Liu Xia) on April 8, three weeks later. Ms. Liu was arrested in November 2015 and held in the Linyi Detention Center.
Ms. Liu's mother and two younger sisters are also Falun Gong practitioners. They went to Beijing to peacefully protest against the persecution in 1999. For that, the communist regime has relentlessly persecuted them.
Ms. Liu was repeatedly arrested, brainwashed and tortured in forced labor camps. Her sister Ms. Liu Li is still imprisoned in the Nanjing Women's Prison after being sentenced to three-and-a-half years for her belief in 2014. Her sister Ms. Liu Huaifeng passed away in January of this year because of the persecution.
Since her arrest, Ms. Liu's husband has been trying to rescue her. Life is hard because he has to earn a living, while at the same time care for his son and 90-year-old paralyzed mother.
Related reports:A Mother's Pain: For Practicing Falun Gong – One Daughter Imprisoned, Three Daughters Arrested
Junan County Teacher Mr. Fu Tingfa Taken to Brainwashing Center