(Minghui.org) A married couple in Benxi City, Liaoning Province have been imprisoned for their faith in Falun Gong, after their family’s efforts to seek justice for them were pushed back by the authorities.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Deng Yulin, 54, and Ms. Zhang Limin were arrested on May 23, 2019. They were sentenced to 4 and 3.5 years with 20,000- and 15,000-yuan fine, respectively, on September 4, 2020 by the Hengren County Court. Their bank accounts were frozen by the court as well.
The couple filed appeals with the Benxi City Intermediate Court. Without holding a hearing, the higher court ruled to uphold their sentences on November 17, 2020. The couple’s family then filed a motion to reconsider their case with the intermediate court on November 30, 2020.
Additionally, the family also wrote to the Benxi City Justice Bureau in October and November 2020, demanding that the Bureau publicize the judicial qualifications of prosecutor Sun Jinjia of the Hengren County Procuratorate, judges Wang Sijie and Chen Xiaoyun of the Hengren County Court and judge Xiong Tiening of the Benxi City Intermediate Court, and hold them accountable in wrongfully sentencing their loved ones.
On July 14, 2021, Xie Xiangrong, a judge from the Benxi City Intermediate Court ruled to reject the motion to reconsider the couple’s case, even though he had promised previously to follow the law in determining the case.
Two days later, Mr. Deng was taken to the Panjin Prison. Ms. Zhang had been taken to the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison on June 29, two weeks before the intermediate court announced the decision of their motion.
The couple’s family said they would continue seeking justice for their loved ones in filing a motion with the Liaoning Higher People’s Court.
Prior to their latest verdicts, the couple were sentenced to nine years each by the Pingshan District Court following their arrests on September 19, 2004.
While incarcerated at the Nanguanling Prison, guard Song Chenghong said to Mr. Deng that he could make him lose half of his weight (about 70 lbs) in two days.
When Mr. Deng refused to do the forced labor, the guards ordered the inmates to drag him out of the workshop and throw him on the concrete floor. The guards also instigated the inmates to beat him.
After surviving the nine hellish years, the couple were released on September 18, 2013, only to be arrested and sentenced again several years later.
Related reports:
Four Liaoning Residents’ Appeals Against Wrongful Sentences Rejected, Families Seek Justice
Four Liaoning Residents Sentenced for Their Faith – Three Denied Family Visits for More Than a Year
Three Liaoning Residents Face Trial for Their Faith, Lawyers Threatened by Justice Bureau
Husband and Wife Arrested in 2004 Secretly Sentenced to Nine Years In Prison
Related report in Chinese:
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Category: Accounts of Persecution
