Shenze County, Hebei Province: 17 Arrested in One Night, Eight of Them Sentenced One and a Half Years Later

(Minghui.org) Six women and two men in Shenze County, Hebei Province were recently sentenced to prison for their faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

The eight Falun Gong practitioners were among at least 17 local residents arrested between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. on January 11, 2022. They were held at a hotel and interrogated for sixteen days before being transferred to local detention facilities on January 27. The six female practitioners were taken to the Shijiazhuang City Second Detention Center, and the two male practitioners the Jinzhou City Detention Center. 

The Jinzhou City Police Department submitted their cases to the Jinzhou City Procuratorate on May 5, and the latter forwarded the cases to the Jinzhou City Court on June 2, 2022. 

The practitioners stood trial on April 4, 2023, and their convictions were confirmed on June 9.

Ms. He Hongyan was sentenced to five years and fined 40,000 yuan;Ms. Liu Xiaomiao, 76, Ms. Jiao Yaqin, and Mr. Du Guofang, 52, were each sentenced to three years and fined 30,000 yuan;Ms. Liu Yuru, 55, was sentenced to two and a half years with a 25,000-yuan fine;Ms. Tian Xuan was sentenced to two years and fined 20,000 yuan;Ms. Ma Tongxin and Mr. Liu Chengwu were each sentenced to one year and ten months with a 15,000-yuan fine.

Some of the practitioners had been repeatedly arrested in the past for upholding their faith. In particular, Ms. Liu Xiaomiao's husband, mother, and four sisters were also persecuted for practicing Falun Gong. Her husband died as a result of the persecution on March 7, 2014. He was in his 60s. Ms. Liu’s health quickly declined following her latest arrest. She was unable to eat and has been taken to the hospital for emergency care seven times.

Family Members Barred from Attending the Hearing

After the eight practitioners’ cases were forwarded to the Jinzhou City Court on June 2, 2022, the court had to postpone the trial multiple times due to local COVID-19 outbreaks.

The court finally scheduled a hearing for February 22, 2023. The eight practitioners’ family members, however, were barred from attending the supposedly “open hearing.” Presiding judge Li Shuangli cited the pandemic as an excuse but he couldn’t show any relevant policy from the local government. He also claimed that he was following his supervisor’s order to block the family members outside, but he refused to reveal the name and title of his supervisor. 

The defense lawyers, some from Beijing and others Tianjin, insisted that their clients’ loved ones be allowed to attend the hearing. Judge Li then canceled the hearing on the spot. 

At a rescheduled hearing on April 4, Judge Li again barred the practitioners’ family members from attending the session. Only the five defense lawyers and three non-lawyer defenders were allowed inside the courtroom. Li adjourned the session after about ten hours.

It is unclear when Li sentenced the practitioners, but their loved ones learned of their convictions from insiders on June 9.

Arrests

According to officers who participated in the arrests on January 11, 2022, they received orders beforehand for an upcoming night operation but were given no details. The authorities confiscated all of their cell phones before revealing that they were going to arrest Falun Gong practitioners.

If the practitioners in multi-story homes refused to open the door, the police broke in. If the practitioners were in a single-story home, the officers didn’t even bother to knock—they just scaled their fence and broke in. The police searched the practitioners’ homes extensively, including storage rooms and closets. Their Falun Gong books, photos of Falun Gong’s founder, Falun Gong informational materials, computers, printers, and copy paper were taken away. The items confiscated from some practitioners filled up several cars.

They covered practitioners’ heads with black hoods and took them to a hotel in nearby Jinzhou City. The police interrogated them in separate rooms, keeping them in metal chairs and handcuffed and not letting them sleep. After the interrogation, they put the black hoods back on.

The police held the practitioners in the hotel until January 27, 2022, before transferring them to the detention centers. 

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Cheng Lijun (程立军), prosecutor of Jinzhou City Procuratorate: [phone], [phone]Li Shuangli (李双利), judge of Jinzhou Court: [phone], [phone]Du Lichan (Du Chan杜丽婵), court clerk: [phone]

Related Reports:

Fifteen Falun Dafa Practitioners Tortured in Shijiazhuang City’s Second Detention Center

Eleven Falun Gong Practitioners Detained in Shijiazhuang Second Detention Center, Two in Critical Condition

Seven Targeted in a Midnight Police Sweep Detained for Nearly Two Months

75-year-old Woman in Serious Condition Four Months Into Her Arrest for Practicing Falun Gong