Sichuan Veteran Denied Right to Counsel, Sentenced for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A 40-year-old veteran in Miyi County, Sichuan Province was recently sentenced to three years for his faith in Falun Gong.

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

Mr. Luo Banglin was arrested at home on March 15, 2022 by seven officers from the Miyi County Domestic Security Office. His Falun Gong books, photos of Falun Gong’s founder, computer memory cards, cellphone, as well as the computer and printer he used for his business, were confiscated.

The officers took Mr. Luo to the Panlian Town Police Station for interrogation. They transferred him to the Yanbian County Detention Center the next day. The Miyi County Police Department delivered the arrest warrant to his wife, Ms. Hong Chuyan, on March 30. 

Mr. Luo was transferred to the Mianshawan Detention Center in mid-April 2022. A prosecutor from the Miyi County Procuratorate interviewed him at the detention center in late May and said they would recommend a 3- or 3.5-year prison sentence for him.

His wife Ms. Hong went to the procuratorate and filed an application to be his non-lawyer defender. Hu Shouhua, the prosecutor in charge of the case, demanded that she sign paperwork promising not to hire a lawyer for her husband. She refused to make such a promise.

Ms. Hong submitted her defense statement on August 12 and received a call from Hu three days later. Hu said that she wasn’t allowed to represent her husband as a non-lawyer defender or visit him at the detention center. 

Without allowing Mr. Luo any legal counsel, the Miyi County Court convicted him on December 23, 2022.

Mr. Luo served two years in the army in Tibet, between 2003 and 2005. He suffered high altitude sickness and struggled with poor health after finishing his service. He had trouble sleeping at night and had very low energy. He later took up Falun Gong on the recommendation of a friend and regained his health. He started a mango farm and opened an online store to sell the fruits.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Zhang Rui (张锐), presiding judge, Miyi County Court: [phone], [phone]Hu Shouhua (胡寿华), prosecutor, Miyi County Procuratorate: [phone]Lai Shenghong (赖生洪), director, Miyi County Police Department: [phone], [phone]

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

Related report:

Sichuan Veteran Detained for Five Months and Counting for Practicing Falun Gong