(Minghui.org) Ms. Gao Qingxiu and Ms. Sun Runtao were recently sentenced to prison for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
The two Guyuan County, Hebei Province residents were arrested together with another local, Ms. Zhao Mei, on August 17, 2019, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong.
The police ransacked Ms. Gao and Ms. Sun’s homes in the evening and Ms. Zhao’s home the next day. Their Falun Gong books, related materials, computer and other personal belongings were confiscated.
The three practitioners were put on criminal detention on August 18 and taken to the Zhangjiakou City Detention Center. Ms. Zhao was found to have high blood pressure and was released on bail.
In mid-December, the Guyuan County Procuratorate submitted Ms. Gao and Ms. Sun’s case to the higher level Zhangjiakou City Procuratorate, which then assigned it to the Zhangbei County Procuratorate.
In late December 2019, the Zhangbei County Procuratorate returned their case to the Guyuan County Police Department for insufficient evidence. The police submitted their case again in late January 2020. The prosecutor indicted them in late February.
Ms. Gao, a middle school teacher, and Ms. Sun were tried by the Zhangbei County Court through a video conference on September 15. Ms. Sun’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her.
Ms. Gao and Ms. Sun were sentenced to three and four years, respectively, on December 3. Both of them were also fined 20,000 yuan. Ms. Sun has appealed her verdict with the Zhangjiakou City Intermediate Court.
Both practitioners are still detained at the Zhangjiakou City Detention Center at the time of writing.
