(Minghui.org) Seven Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, residents stood trial on December 17, 2021, for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

The seven practitioners are Ms. Liu Sulan, 75, Ms. Wan Guiying, 72, Ms. Li Jing, 64, Ms. Yu Shufen, 56, Mr. Zhang Kunshan, in his 50s, Mr. Wang Zhongxue and his wife Ms. Wu Yanling, both in their 60s.

The Lingyuan City Court held the hearing through a video conference and barred the practitioners’ lawyers and families from attending in person, citing the pandemic as an excuse. All other hearings by the same court were held in person.

Ms. Wan was arrested on September 8, 2021, while the other six practitioners were seized on June 11, 2021 in a police sweep that the police claimed to be a “gift” for the Chinese Communist Party’s centennial celebration on July 1. At least 27 practitioners were arrested on the same day.

Mr. Wang and Ms. Wu were retired employees of Lingyuan Steel Company. During their arrests, the police turned the couple’s home upside down, confiscating their printer, computer, Falun Gong books and even printing paper. Their front door was left open when the police left. The arrest of Ms. Wu, an only child, left her father, who is in his 90s, struggling to care for himself.

Mr. Zhang, also a retired employee of Lingyuan Steel Company, had his home ransacked at 6 a.m., even though he wasn’t home when the police came. A crowd watched the police load their car with his Falun Gong books, photo of Falun Gong’s founder and other Falun Gong related materials. A spectator said he recalled seeing the police ask nearby residents about Mr. Zhang, with a photo of him in hand.

Mr. Zhang was held at the Lingyuan City Detention Center. Mr. Wang was kept in a detention facility in nearby Jianping County. The five female practitioners were detained at the Chaoyang City Women’s Detention Center.

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Chang Guofeng (常国锋), prosecutor of Lingyuan City Procuratorate: +86-13190250758, +86-421-2960051
Zhang Xuejun (张学军), president of Lingyuan City Court: +86-421-6989101Wang Hongfu (王洪福), judge of Lingyuan City Court: +86-421-6989166, +86-15698760063

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

Related report:

Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province: 26 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in One Day Prior to the CCP’s Centennial Celebration