(Minghui.org) A court tried Ms. Wu Qinchai secretly in early April 2018 without notifying her attorney or family. She was illegally sentenced to 4 years in prison for practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Wu was taken to Xinxiang Women's Prison on June 15, 2018.
Ms. Wu was arrested while distributing calendars containing information about Falun Gong in December 2016. She was sent to Wentai Police Department in Anyang City. She was released on the same day due to her physical condition.
She had been under surveillance for half a year. She was indicted by Wenfeng District Procuratorate of Anyang City in August 2016. To avoid further persecution from the local 610 Office, she was forced to leave her family and return to her hometown in Shandong Province.
Wentai Police Department dispatched two teams to surround the home of Ms. Wu's mother in Shandong Province on October 19, 2017. The police pried open the windows and arrested Ms. Wu. She was taken back to Anyang City and detained in Anyang Detention Center.
Ms. Wu's family hired a local attorney to defend her. But under pressure from Wenfeng District 610 Office and the court, the attorney was forced to withdraw from the case.
Ms. Wu's family hired another attorney from out of town, but Wenfeng District Court hindered the attorney's involvement. Judge Wang Tingyin tried to pressure the family to dismiss the attorney, but they refused to comply. When his attempt failed, the judge created another obstacle by requiring the attorney to report and register in Anyang City and the Wenfeng District Judicial Bureau. When the attorney completed all the relevant procedures, he was still blocked from advocating on the case. The attorney filed a complaint against the judge.
Judge Wang went to the detention center without notifying Ms. Wu's family or her attorney in April 2018. She was secretly tried and sentenced.
Ms. Wu hopes to appeal the verdict, but the appeals process has been hindered due to further court interference.
Ms. Wu was secretly taken to Xinxiang Women’s Prison on June 15, 2018.
Ms. Wu was previously sent to labor camps for refusing to renounce her faith. She was sentenced to 4 years in prison in 2009 and 3 years in prison in 2014.
She has rarely been able to spend Chinese New Year with her family in the past 19 years, as she was either being held in a detention center, prison or brainwashing center, or forced to leave home to avoid further persecution.