(Clearwisdom.net) On September 30, 2010, the District Court in the Jinshantun Section of Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province, illegally sentenced five Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Wang Zhiqian was sentenced to 12 years in prison, Ms. Nie Shumei and her husband were sentenced to nine years and six years respectively, and Yan Tingying and Li Qifeng were each sentenced to three years.

Mr. Wang Zhiqian

On April 12, 2010, when 65-year-old Mr. Wang Zhiqian from Jinshantun, Yichun City, went to the home of Ms. Nie Shumei and Mr. Guo Qingan, officers from the Kangda Police Station broke in without a warrant. They seized some personal items and took the three of them to the station. Policemen, including deputy captain Zhang Wei, handcuffed Mr. Wang behind his back to a metal chair and then kicked him viciously.

On the evening of April 13, police from the Yichun City vice squad arrested practitioners Yan Tingying and Li Qifeng, both in their 50s. The five practitioners were held in the Yichun Detention Center and Xilin Detention Center.

On September 9, 2010, District Courts in Yichun City held sessions in secret and without notifying the families. The Yichun Section Court tried Yan Tingying and Li Qifeng in the morning, and the Jinshan District Court tried Mr. Wang Zhiqian in the afternoon. When Mr. Wang Zhiqian started to tell the court about the police vice squad beating, the bailiff interrupted him and stopped him from speaking. The public prosecutor also kept Ms. Nie Shumei from speaking. When the families got the news of the trials, they rushed to the courts but were too late.

On September 30, Jinshantun District Court personnel went to the Xilin Detention Center to inform the five practitioners of their sentences.

After several days, their family members learned of the illegal sentences. The practitioners are all being held in secret, and no one will tell their family members where they are.

Authorities withheld the trial announcements and also prevented Falun Gong practitioners from attending the trials. Police went to the Jinshantun District Station to intercept practitioners in the early morning. When they saw practitioner Mr. Wang Xinxhun on a bus, they boarded the bus and arrested him. They kept him for the entire day, until the court session ended. They also took away his cell phone, cash, and an MP3 player.

When Mr. Wang Xinchun went to the Fenggou Police Station to ask for the return of his personal items and his money, the police refused to return the items and started to push and swear at him.