(Minghui.org) Ms. Ren Suxiang, a resident of Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, was sentenced to eight years in prison on April 15, 2019 for not renouncing her faith in Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Ren, 55, was arrested at her neighbor's home on December 18, 2018. The police ransacked her home and confiscated her printer, computer and banknotes printed with messages about Falun Gong.
After Ms. Ren's case was submitted to Yuanbaoshan District Court, the court-appointed lawyer attempted to force her to plead guilty. When she refused to comply, the lawyer turned to her children and threatened that she may get 15 years or even life in prison for holding firm to her faith.
Ms. Ren appeared in Yuanbaoshan District Court, first on February 28 and then on March 14, 2019. The lawyer that she hired entered a not guilty plea for her.
During evidence cross-examination, the police provided conflicting accounts about how they seized materials from Ms. Ren. From one account, they said the materials were turned in by the person who reported Ms. Ren, while in another account, the police said they came by the materials when ransacking her home.
Ms. Ren said the police didn't wear their uniforms or show a search warrant during the home raid. Zhang Zhigang, chief of the local police station, responded: “The police ID is the search warrant. We can fill out a search warrant for your case easily after the hearing.”
Ms. Ren is the seventh Falun Gong practitioner who was sentenced to eight years in Chifeng City during the persecution in the past 20 years. Prior to Ms. Ren's latest sentencing, Mr. Ma Qinghai was given nine years in 2005. Ms. Li Dan was given seven and a half years in 2009. Another twenty-three practitioners were sentenced to seven years.
Among the 32 practitioners who received the heavy sentences, ten people, including Ms. Ren, are from Yuanbaoshan District.
Related report:
Five Falun Gong Practitioners Illegally Sentenced in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia
