(Minghui.org) A Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, resident was sentenced to six and a half years on July 8, 2025 because she practices Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Yang Qiaoli, a mother of two school-aged children, was arrested on January 8, 2024 and issued a formal arrest warrant one month later on February 8. Two of her siblings were detained for 15 days when they tried to get her released. See the related reports for details of her arrest.
A Beijing lawyer represented Ms. Yang. Captain Fu Hong’an from the Yintai District Domestic Security Division filed a complaint against the lawyer and his law firm with the Beijing Judicial Bureau, accusing him of “daring to defend a Falun Gong practitioner.”
Prosecutor Gao Guanghua from the Yintai District Procuratorate called the law firm to ask if the lawyer was indeed on its payroll. Gao also asked whether the law firm owner knew that the lawyer was representing a Falun Gong practitioner.
Gao later called the lawyer directly and asked if he agreed that Falun Gong was a cult. The lawyer replied that neither he nor Gao had the credentials to address this question as to whether a belief system was a cult and it was not decided by any government agencies. He also submitted legal documents attesting to the fact that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it as a cult and that the ban on Falun Gong books was lifted in 2011.
Gao refused to accept the legal documents and the lawyer’s request to drop the case. He proceeded to indict Ms. Yang at an unknown time.
The Yintai District Court heard the case on August 29, 2024. Ms. Yang’s brother and sister were not allowed to attend the trial or represent her as non-lawyer defenders.
After the trial, the police immediately took Ms. Yang out of the courthouse. She did have a chance to see her siblings standing outside.
A guilty verdict was issued against Ms. Yang on July 8, 2025. Presiding judge Qiao Yanfang, judges Jiang Yanqing and Guo Junfeng, assistant to judges Zhang Zhuxin, and clerks Tian Chao and Li Guozhen signed the ruling.
Related Reports:
Shaanxi Woman Stands Trial for Practicing Falun Gong, Faces 6-Year Prison Sentence
Shaanxi Woman Detained for Practicing Falun Gong, Two Siblings Arrested for Seeking Her Release
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