Five Practitioners Face Trial in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province

(Minghui.org) Five Falun Gong practitioners in Shangrao City are scheduled to face trial in early April by the Xinzhou District Court.

The five practitioners and Ms. Yang Hehua were arrested by 13 police officers while they were reading Falun Gong books in an apartment on August 28, 2016.

The practitioners are Ms. Xu Yuwen, 63; Mr. Fang Biaodong, 67; Ms. Qiu Zhenhua, 75; Ms. Lin Ronghua, 73; and Ms. Song Runxiang, 62.

All six practitioners were interrogated. They were taken to a hospital for medical examinations before being taken to the Zaotou Detention Center. Ms. Yang was released because of a heart condition.

The detention center refused to admit Ms. Xu, Mr. Fang, Ms. Qiu, and Ms. Lin because of health issues or old age. They were interrogated before being released on bail the next day.

However, these four practitioners were ordered to return to the police station for further interrogation several times. Their cases were reported to the provincial level, after which the Xinzhou District Procuratorate filed their cases with the court. The Xinzhou District Court notified them around March 20 that they would face trial. A copy of the indictment was forwarded to them.

Ms. Song Runxiang is still being held in the Zaotou Detention Center.

All five practitioners were charged with “using a cult organization to undermine implementation of the law,” a standard charge used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Song and Ms. Qiu were charged for suing Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party, for initiating its campaign against Falun Gong.

Ms. Lin’s daughter resides in the United States. She sent informational materials about Falun Gong to her mother online and was accused of being the “principle conspirator.” Ms. Lin was accused of being an accomplice.

Ms. Lin had been distributing Falun Gong informational materials and was recorded on video. After she was arrested, the police ransacked her home and confiscated Falun Gong informational materials, books, and a new tablet computer.

Since Ms. Lin’s son had helped her to download Falun Gong materials from her daughter's e-mail, he and his wife were arrested and taken to the Dongshi Police Station. They were interrogated until early the next morning. Her son's new computer was also confiscated.

Perpetrators' contact information:Zhu Yinglu, president: [phone], [phone]Liu Bojun, vice president: [phone], [phone], [phone]Xu Linhong, vice president: [phone],[phone]