(Minghui.org) A retired police supervisor in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province is seeking justice after she was wrongfully indicted for her faith in Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Cheng Lan, 68, was arrested on August 29, 2019 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. The police ransacked her home and confiscated her computer and printer. Because she refused to renounce Falun Gong after 22 days of detention at a brainwashing center, the police put her in criminal detention on September 20 and transferred her to the Nanjing City Detention Center. She was released on bail on October 21.
The police summoned Ms. Cheng in early 2020 and told her that they were investigating her case. They warned that she wasn’t allowed to travel out of town and that she had to report to the police whenever summoned. Ms. Cheng tried to hire a lawyer to represent her, only to find that the Nanjing Judiciary Bureau strictly forbade lawyers from defending Falun Gong practitioners. She then decided to act as her own lawyer.
On May 9, 2020, Ms. Cheng was summoned by Chen Lifang, a prosecutor at Xuanwu District Procuratorate. Chen told Ms. Cheng that higher-ups had reviewed the evidence submitted by the police against her and decided that it was enough to sentence her to prison. Chen promised to recommend a suspended sentence if Ms. Cheng agreed to renounce Falun Gong, but if she refused, then there was no need for them to keep talking.
Ms. Cheng appealed to Chen on May 20 to reevaluate the evidence submitted by the police, only to see Chen ignore her request, indict her the next day, and submit her case to the Xuanwu District Court.
Ms. Cheng refused to acknowledge the indictment. She filed complaints against Chen and her assistant Liu Songmao to Nanjing City Procuratorate on June 20 and then sent another copy to Nanjing City Intermediate Court on June 26.
She accused prosecutor Chen of not verifying the facts and indicting her without a legal basis for the charges.
According to information collected by Minghui.org, Chen has a track record of indicting Falun Gong practitioners for their faith. Mr. Ma Zhenyu, who has been sentenced to three years, was indicted by her. She is currently in charge of Ms. Wang Xiangli and Ms. Zhang Yucui’s cases.
On June 29, Ms. Cheng received a reply from the Nanjing City Procuratorate that they had forwarded her complaint to the Xuanwu District Procuratorate for them to investigate the case themselves.
Prior to her latest plight, Ms. Cheng had been arrested, detained and had her home searched multiples times for practicing Falun Gong. Her son-in-law, a department manager at a foreign company in Beijing, was fired due to her faith.
Related report:Retired Police Supervisor Persecuted for Her Faith
