Arrested in a Police Sweep 4 Years Ago, Six Jiangsu Residents Sentenced Up to 7 Years for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Six residents of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, were sentenced to prison on March 20, 2025, for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

The prison terms are as follows: Ms. Yuan Huifen was sentenced to seven years and fined 7,000 yuan; Mr. Zhao Haibo was given five years and fined 5,000 yuan; Ms. Wu Xiaoming, Ms. Chang Zheng and Ms. Cui Ping all received 4.5 years and were fined 4,000 yuan; and Ms. Wen Jian was sentenced to four years and fined 4,000 yuan.

All six practitioners were arrested together with seven other local practitioners during a police sweep on May 10, 2021. Mr. Zhao (69, born in October 1955); Ms. Yuan (69, born in October 1955); Ms. Chang (52, born in July 1972); and Ms. Wen (49, born in December 1975) were put on criminal detention by the Changshu City Police Department on November 9, 2021, and their arrests were approved by the Zhangjiagang City Procuratorate on November 16, 2021.

That same day (November 16, 2021) the remaining practitioners were released on bail, including Ms. Wu (51, born in February 1974); Ms. Cui (61, born in December 1963); Ms. Dong Wanyu (73, born in January 1952); Mr. Ji Yong (49, born in December 1975) and his wife Ms. Pan Ning (51, born in January 1974); Ms. Li Shoujie (52, born in October 1972); Ms. Zhu Ying (71, born in May 1954); Ms. Han Guixiang (60, born in September 1964); and Ms. Zhang Yumei (66, born in June 1958). The latter seven practitioners’ bail conditions were renewed on January 17, 2022.

The Changshu City Police Department submitted the 13 practitioners’ joint case to the Zhangjiagang City Procuratorate on January 14, 2022. Prosecutor Guo Juncheng indicted them on May 18, 2022.

Between January 31 and February 8, 2024, prosecutor Guo escalated the charges against all the practitioners and accused Mr. Zhao of being a “ringleader” who was assisted by Ms. Yuan, Ms. Wu, Ms. Chang, and Ms. Cui.

The Zhangjiagang City Court then separated the joint case into two cases, and placed the six now-sentenced practitioners in one case and the other seven in another case. It was said that the other seven practitioners have also been tried and sentenced but details remain to be investigated.

Two Court Hearings Preceding Wrongful Convictions

Mr. Zhao, Ms. Yuan, Ms. Chang, Ms. Wen, Ms. Wu, and Ms. Cui made two court appearances on January 31 and May 22, 2024, before their sentencing.

Three lawyers, who were hired by the practitioners and entered not guilty pleas for them, and several court-appointed lawyers, were present during the hearings.

Prosecutor Guo alleged that it was illegal for the practitioners to read the Falun Gong teachings together, to produce and distribute Falun Gong informational materials, to register for Minghui.org mailboxes, to hire lawyers to defend other previously arrested practitioners, and to take Falun Gong books from the homes of deceased practitioners whose families decided to give the books away.

The practitioners and their lawyers argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that all of the things listed above that they did since 2016 were within their constitutional rights.

The three lawyers hired by the practitioners pointed out that the use of the Suzhou City Domestic Security Division to verify and authenticate prosecution evidence was a violation of legal procedures as only an independent, third-party can check prosecution evidence and issue formal opinions. As such, all the prosecution evidence should be inadmissible.

Mr. Zhao, Ms. Wu, and Ms. Cui testified against the police for interrogating them with torture and coercing them into “confessions.” Hence the interrogation records should also be tossed out from the trial. They added that the location where they were held in criminal detention was not a legally recognized detention facility.

Throughout the trial, both the presiding judge, Lin Shuang, and prosecutor Guo failed to specify which law the practitioners broke while they did the activities listed earlier. Lin proceeded to convict them on March 20, 2025. Judges Ren Qingmin and Ji Huihui, clerk Lu Xiaoyan and prosecutor Guo also signed the verdict.

Related Reports:

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