(Minghui.org) A 58-year-old woman in Huludao City was sentenced to 4 years in prison and fined 5,000 yuan for “using a cult to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime in its attempt to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.
Ms. Wang Shulan credits Falun Gong for returning her health. Her pursuit of an illness-free life, however, landed her in police custody.
She was seized on July 22, 2017, moments after she stepped out of her apartment building. She was brought back to have her home ransacked.
She appeared in court on January 16, 2018. The Longgang District Court didn’t issue any public notice of her trial as required by law. The courthouse was heavily patrolled, and only four of Ms. Wang’s family members were allowed to attend the hearing.
Prosecutor Wang Fubiao charged Ms. Wang with violating Article 300 of the Criminal Law, which stipulates that anyone using a cult to undermine law enforcement must be prosecuted.
Ms. Wang’s lawyer argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it a cult. The prosecutor failed to specify which cult Ms. Wang had allegedly joined or which law she had allegedly undermined.
The lawyer also testified against the police’s violation of legal procedures. They never showed any ID or search warrant when arresting and ransacking the home of Ms. Wang. They also didn’t ask her or her husband to sign on the list of confiscated items as required by law. Ms. Wang’s family was never given any update on or formal notice of her arrest, detention, or trial.
The lawyer emphasized that it was his client’s constitutional right to freedom of belief and that she should never have been prosecuted for her faith in the first place.
Judge Gu Yue kept interrupting the lawyer as he presented his defense argument. She adjourned the hearing without issuing a verdict. On January 24, she convicted Ms. Wang, who is now appealing her case.
