(Minghui.org) Mr. Li Qingsheng, 78, from Xinbin County, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to two years and fined 2,000 yuan on December 3, 2024 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
About six police officers and court workers delivered the verdict to Mr. Li. He noticed the ruling bore the signatures of presiding judge Ma Yue, judges Li Zhen and Li Xiaodong, as well as clerk Sheng Ming.
Mr. Li was then taken to a local detention center, which refused to admit him after he failed the required physical examination. He was allowed to go home. It’s unclear whether the court planned to take him back into custody later or allow him to serve time outside of prison.
Arrest and Trial
Mr. Li’s prison sentence stemmed from his arrest on November 14, 2023, after he was reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials in nearby Jiahe Village, Yongling Town. The arresting officers raided his home and confiscated multiple Falun Gong books and calendars.
The Xinbin County Domestic Security Division released Mr. Li on bail that night after he was found to have a systolic blood pressure of over 200 mmHg (when a normal range is 120 or lower), and the local detention center refused to admit him.
Officers from the Yongling Town Police Station harassed Mr. Li at home twice in early April 2024 and asked if he still practiced Falun Gong or went out to distribute informational materials. Days later, the Shuncheng District Procuratorate in Fushun City, which oversees Xinbin County, called Mr. Li and ordered him to report to them. He did not go.
Two men and one woman from the procuratorate showed up at Mr. Li’s home on April 22, 2024 to deliver a notice stating he had the right to seek legal counsel to defend himself. The three people also said the procuratorate forwarded his case to the Shuncheng District Court. They asked if he intended to hire a lawyer. He said no. They pressured him to admit his “guilt” in practicing Falun Gong and spreading information about Falun Gong. He replied that he broke no law. He also refused to sign the notice as ordered.
A woman and two bailiffs from the Shuncheng District Court visited Mr. Li on September 4, 224 to deliver a copy of his indictment, which stated that Liu Lina was the prosecutor and Wang Qi was her assistant. The three people also notified him that his case was received by the court. They asked him to sign another document but he refused.
More than ten officers and court workers came to Mr. Li’s home on the morning of November 14, 2024 to hold a hearing of his case. The judges, who appeared virtually from the courthouse, accused him of promoting a “cult.” He refuted this, and said that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it as a cult. The judges said that the security officer at Jiahe Village reported him for handing out a number of Falun Gong materials. Mr. Li said that he only passed out one single copy of materials when he was arrested.
The court-appointed lawyer recommended a probation sentence as Mr. Li was over the age of 75, had high blood pressure, and only distributed one copy of Falun Gong informational materials.
The hearing ended in half an hour and the judges issued a guilty verdict against Mr. Li on December 3. Prior to his latest sentencing, he was arrested in 2014, also for distributing Falun Gong materials.
Related Reports:
Sixty Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested for Distributing Shen Yun DVDs
Officer Now Responsible for Persecuting Over 30 Practitioners After Arresting 3 More
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