Sichuan Appeals Court Upholds Woman’s Wrongful Prison Sentence Without Holding a Hearing as Requested

(Minghui.org) A 49-year-old resident of Hejiang County, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province was sentenced to four and a half years in prison and an 8,000-yuan fine on February 2, 2023, for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Ms. Zhao Yongxiu entrusted her trial attorney to continue representing her in her appeals case. The lawyer submitted her appeal and his defense statement to the Luzhou City Intermediate Court. Judge Li Xudong ruled to uphold the original verdict on April 18 without holding an open hearing as requested by her and her lawyer.

Arrest and Sentencing

Ms. Zhao was arrested outside the Hejiang County Court on April 2, 2021, when she went there to attend a trial of four Falun Gong practitioners. Several copies of Falun Gong materials in her purse were confiscated. The officers tied her to a metal chair and interrogated her. She wasn’t allowed to use the restroom.

After she was released, Ms. Zhao filed complaints against Wang Zhonghe and Ren Wei of the Hejiang County Domestic Security Office for the arrest and interrogation. In retaliation, the police arrested her on August 18, 2021, and raided her home.

When the police submitted Ms. Zhao’s case to the Hejiang County Procuratorate, the Falun Gong materials that had been confiscated from her during her arrest and home raid were included as prosecution evidence. The 26 letters she wrote to various agencies complaining about the police were also listed as “Falun Gong promotional materials.” Each page of the letters was counted as one piece of evidence, which ended up totaling 422 pieces of evidence.

Ms. Zhao was indicted on November 29, 2021 and appeared in Hejiang County Court on August 15, 2022. She was sentenced to 4.5 years and fined 8,000 yuan on February 2, 2023. She entrusted her lawyer to represent her again in her appeals case.

Lawyer Defends Ms. Zhao Again in Her Appeals Case

The lawyer emphasized the following in his defense statement.

Ms. Zhao was sentenced for violating Article 300 of the Criminal Law, which states that anyone using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Her lawyer argued that China’s law-making body, People’s Congress, has never enacted any law criminalizing Falun Gong or labeling it a cult. As such, there were no legal grounds for the sentencing.

The prosecutor in the trial had cited as legal basis a statutory interpretation of Article 300 of the Criminal Law issued by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate from November 1999. The interpretation required that anyone practicing or promoting Falun Gong be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. The lawyer pointed out that a new statutory interpretation that replaced the 1999 version took effect on February 1, 2017. The new interpretation made no mention of Falun Gong and emphasized that any indictment against anyone engaging in a cult must be based on solid legal grounds. Since no enacted law in China labels Falun Gong a cult, the sentencing of Ms. Zhao based on the statutory interpretation lacked legal basis.

The lawyer also argued that given the principle of the separation of church and state, no government, including the Chinese communist regime, is in a position to determine whether a belief system is a cult or not.

One can only be held criminally liable for their law-breaking actions, not their religious belief or thoughts. Ms. Zhao’s mailing out complaint letters and practicing Falun Gong has never caused any harm to any individual or society at large. As a matter of fact, there was no victim listed in her case.

The prosecution evidence included the 26 complaint letters that Ms. Zhao mailed to various agencies. The use of the letters as evidence against her violated Article 40 of the Constitution, which stipulates, “Freedom and privacy of correspondence of citizens of the People’s Republic of China are protected by law. No organization or individual may, on any grounds, infringe upon citizens’ freedom and privacy of correspondence, except in cases where, to meet the needs of State security or of criminal investigation, public security or procuratorial organs are permitted to censor correspondence in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law.”

There was no independent, third-party forensic agency to verify and authenticate the prosecution evidence against Ms. Zhao. The prosecutor also failed to investigate the police-supplied evidence, including the 26 letters, as required by law. The lawyer argued that the prosecutor’s indictment of Ms. Zhao without verifying evidence may be construed as having committed dereliction of duty.

The police and the prosecutor cited as legal basis two notices issued by China’s Administration of Press and Publications in July 1999 to ban the publication of Falun Gong books. The lawyer pointed out that the Administration of Press and Publication issued a repeal of the ban in 2011 and that it was fully legal for practitioners to own Falun Gong books. As such, the Falun Gong materials confiscated from Ms. Zhao should never have been admitted as evidence to sentence her.

In summary, the lawyer argued that Ms. Zhao should never have been sentenced for exercising her constitutional right to freedom of belief and freedom of correspondence. He requested an open hearing in Ms. Zhao’s appeals case and urged judge Li Xudong to revoke her original verdict, but the judge still ruled to uphold the verdict without having a hearing.

More Crimes of Judge Li

The Luzhou City Intermediate Court has been actively following the persecution policy since 1999. Judge Li Xuedong, in particular, has been involved in the sentencing of at least 39 practitioners.

During the hearing of Mr. Yang Ming’s appeals case, Li interrupted Mr. Yang’s lawyers, Tang Jitian and Liu Wei, as they entered a not guilty plea for him. Both lawyers were forced by the judge to leave the court as Li accused them of defying a court order, which resulted in both lawyers having their licenses revoked.

During the five months between November 2014 and March 2015, Li upheld the sentencing of four practitioners, including Ms. Yang Taiying (sentenced to four years), Mr. Li Yanjun (sentenced to three and a half years), Ms. Tang Minghai (sentenced to four years), and Ms. Yi Qunren (sentenced to four years).

Related Reports:

Sichuan Woman Appeals Second Wrongful Term in Four Years for Practicing Falun Gong

Luzhou City, Sichuan Province: Sixteen Residents Remain Incarcerated for Upholding Their Faith

Two Sichuan Residents’ Appeals Against Wrongful Sentencing Rejected