Shandong Woman Sentenced to Three Years Over Fabricated Witness Account

(Minghui.org) Two court staff members visited Ms. Jiang Guixiu on December 21, 2022, to deliver a guilty verdict against her for her faith in Falun Gong. She was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 10,000 yuan.

Ms. Jiang refused to sign the verdict and said she wouldn’t acknowledge the wrongful sentence. The court staff members said she had ten days to appeal the sentence. She said she would definitely appeal the case and would seek to hold everyone involved in her case accountable for the persecution.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been suppressed by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Jiang, a 64-year-old Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province resident, was arrested at home on May 17, 2022. Her husband, who doesn’t practice Falun Gong, was also taken to the police station for interrogation.

The police deceived Ms. Jiang’s husband into revealing information about her Falun Gong practice, which was later used as prosecution evidence against her. She was forced to sign the deposition. The couple was released on bail after each paid the police a 2,000-yuan bond.

Personnel from the Zhaoyuan City Procuratorate called Ms. Jiang’s husband on July 21 and said the police had submitted her case to them. The prosecutor began making frequent phone calls to Ms. Jiang on August 20, to harass her and her family.

Ms. Jiang was summoned to the Procuratorate on August 24. She tried to clarify the facts about Falun Gong to prosecutor Gao Cheng’e, but Gao wouldn’t listen.

When Ms. Jiang’s family called Gao on November 1 to inquire about her case, she said that she had already indicted Ms. Jiang and moved her case to the Zhaoyuan City Court.

The court called Ms. Jiang’s family on November 2 and ordered her to pick up her indictment three days later. When Ms. Jiang went there, she was told that a hearing of her case had been scheduled for November 24.

During Ms. Jiang’s hearing, her lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for her. Only her cousin was allowed to attend the session. Her husband also asked to attend, but a court clerk denied his request, claiming that he couldn’t attend because he was listed as a prosecution witness in her case.

Ms. Jiang noticed that prosecutor Gao had fabricated content in her husband’s witness account, which wasn’t included in her case documents. Her lawyer demanded that the police provide video footage of their interrogation to verify the account, but prosecutor Gao said they didn’t have it.

Ms. Jiang’s husband asked to testify, but presiding judge Yang would not allow him to, saying, “It’s not good for anyone if he testifies in court.” Yang then adjourned the session.

Judge Yang accused Ms. Jiang of having a bad attitude during the hearing, especially how she tried to clarify the facts about Falun Gong to him. He planned a second hearing in mid-December, but later canceled it and directly handed down the three-year sentence on December 21.