Seven Liaoning Residents Face Prison Sentences After Two Court Hearings

(Minghui.org) Seven Liaoning Province residents stood trial together in June 2022 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. The prosecutor recommended prison sentences of 1- 3.5 years for all of them.

Mr. Zhao Juncheng and his wife Ms. Bao Fengzhi were hosting five other Falun Gong practitioners on December 8, 2021 when the police broke in and arrested all of them. The couple’s guests were Ms. Li Ying, Ms. Cui Rong, Mr. Li Peixin, Mr. Wang Cunbo and Mr. Zhao’s sister, Ms. Zhao Junlan. 

All of the practitioners are residents of Liaoyang City, except 59-year-old Mr. Li, who is a resident of the nearby Anshan City.

It’s revealed by officers from Wensheng Police Station that they monitored the practitioners’ daily lives for a while before arresting them.

Mr. Li was brought back to his home in Anshan at 8 p.m. and had his place ransacked. The police confiscated his 44 Falun Gong books, a computer and a photo of Falun Gong’s founder. He was put on criminal detention on the next day and formally arrested on January 14, 2022. 

Mr. Wang was beaten and interrogated in custody. Two weeks after his arrest, the police ransacked his home, but didn’t find any Falun Gong related materials. 

When the practitioners first appeared at the Dengta City Court on June 21, 2022, the police took pictures of the IDs of their family members who attended the session. Judge Huang Yuefa threatened the practitioners’ lawyers that they would face consequences if they dared to defend the practitioners. 

Mr. Li testified against the police for beating him. He said that because he didn’t let the police take his fingerprints, more than ten officers beat him, causing severe pain in his ribs and his thighs to swell. One officer slapped him in the face twice just because he looked at him. The judge ignored him, claiming that he didn’t have any evidence to support his claim.

During the practitioners’ second hearing on June 30, the judge’s attitude softened. Mr. Li and Mr. Wang’s lawyers entered not guilty plea for them. The prosecutor suggested to sentence Ms. Zhao to 3.5 years, Mr. Wang to 3 years, Ms. Cui to 1.5 years and Mr. Li to 1 year. 

Prior to his latest ordeal, Mr. Wang, 55, who credits Falun Gong for curing his frozen shoulder and arthritis, was sentenced to ten years for his faith following an arrest on November 7, 2004.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Huang Yuefa (黄跃发), judge of Dengta City Court: [phone], [phone], [phone]Tian Junmei (田俊梅), prosecutor: [phone], [phone], [phone]Shao Huiying (邵惠永), vice president of Dengta City Court: [phone], [phone], [phone]

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)

Related report:

Six Liaoning Residents Detained for One Month and Counting for Their Faith