Former Chemical Company R&D Scientist Appeals Wrongful Sentence for Her Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A woman in Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, was sentenced to four years and fined 10,000 yuan on November 17, 2022, for refusing to give up her faith in Falun Gong. Ms. Wang Hua has appealed to the Xi’an City Intermediate Court.

Ms. Wang, a 49-year-old former Research and Development scientist at a chemical company, was arrested on July 5, 2021, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong.

When the Lianhua District Court tried Ms. Wang on August 12, 2022, her lawyer demanded that the bailiffs remove her handcuffs and shackles, but judge Quan Borong claimed that it wasn’t convenient to do so during the pandemic. The lawyer then asked the clerk to record the judge’s remarks in the court proceedings, but the judge refused to allow that, too.

The lawyer asked Ms. Wang if she had been notified of the hearing three days ahead of time, as required by law. She said she was never given any information about the trial.

When the lawyer asked Ms. Wang why she practiced Falun Gong and how she had benefited, judge Quan stopped him mid-question. When he asked the clerk to record the interruption in the court proceedings, the judge reprimanded him.

The lawyer asked prosecutor Chen Bo why he only presented photos of the evidence and didn’t show the actual items. He replied that the police were holding the evidence.

The lawyer argued that if the police didn’t submit actual evidence to the prosecutor, how could he verify the items? The lawyer asked if Ms. Wang had been indicted based only on a few photos.

Ms. Wang’s lawyer confirmed after the hearing that her case had been submitted to the Xi’an City Intermediate Court before it was assigned to the Lianhu District Court, one of the three courts designated to handle Falun Gong cases in Xi’an. The lawyer suspects that her prison sentence was predetermined by the intermediate court.

Prior to her latest trial, Ms. Wang was previously given a forced labor camp term and a prison term for upholding her faith. She was also repeatedly held in brainwashing centers, fired from her job, and had her retirement benefits suspended.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Quan Borong (权波蓉), judge, Lianhu District Court: [phone], [phone], [phone]Chen Bo (陈博), prosecutor, Lianhu District Procuratorate: [phone]Chang Peng (常鹏), judge, Xi’an City Intermediate Court: [phone]

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

Related reports:

Judge Files Complaint Against Lawyer for Defending Falun Gong Practitioner in Court

Shaanxi Woman Stands Trial for Her Faith, Prosecution Evidence Not Presented in Court

Having Served Three Years Behind Bars, Shaanxi Woman Faces Prison Sentence Again for Her Faith