(Minghui.org) Two men in Xingtai City were tried in court for the fourth time last year for their faith. Mr. Lu Gang and Mr. Cai Wen are practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that is currently persecuted in China. This January their families received the verdicts from the Guangzong County Court. Mr. Lu was sentenced to five years and Mr. Cai was given three years. Both families have filed appeals with the Xingtai City Intermediate Court.
On the day of their trial in December last year, only the practitioners’ immediate families and lawyers were allowed in the court. Ignoring their lawyers’ protests, the judge insisted the two practitioners wear handcuffs and shackles.
During the trial the defense lawyers argued that the prosecution fabricated evidence against the practitioners. The trial lasted more than six hours and the judge adjourned it without rendering the verdict.
