(Minghui.org) Three residents of Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province were tried by the Ranghulu District Court on August 22, 2019, for not renouncing their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Jin Miaoqing, 68, Ms. Chen Liping, and Ms. Ding Lihua, nearly 70, were arrested on November 9, 2018 during a sweep of at least 61 practitioners in Daqing.
Only Ms. Chen was represented by a lawyer, who entered a not guilty for her. The other two practitioners defended their own innocence and demanded their acquittal.
Prosecutor Feng Guang used the Falun Gong-related materials confiscated from their homes, including ten ink cartridges found at Mr. Jin’s home, as “evidence” against them.
The practitioners refuted the charges, and stated that the prosecutor failed to specify which law they had allegedly broken by possessing or printing the said materials.
Ms. Ding pointed out the lack of legal basis for the persecution of Falun Gong. Mr. Jin cited a notice issued in 2011 by the Chinese Publication Bureau that revoked the ban on the publication of Falun Gong books and materials.
The prosecutor recommended sentencing Mr. Jin and Ms. Chen to 3-5 years and Ms. Ding to 3-4 years.
Among the practitioners arrested in Daqing last year, Mr. Lu Guanru, 67, was sentenced to seven years in Hulan Prison and Ms. Li Bingying, 69, was sentenced to one year in Heilongjiang Women’s Prison. At least 12 other Falun Gong practitioners are facing further prosecution after their arrests were approved.
Related report:
119 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in Two Heilongjiang Province Cities in One Day
