(Minghui.org) A Xingtai City, Hebei Province, resident recently lost her appeal against a four-year sentence for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Hu Hui, 57, was arrested at her mother-in-law’s home in Nangong City in the same province on July 17, 2023, less than one year after she finished serving another two-year term for her faith. She stood trial at the Ningjin County Court on September 12, 2024 and was sentenced to four years on October 15. Her trial lawyer visited her on October 24 and learned that she filed an appeal with the Xingtai City Intermediate Court.
On November 13, Ms. Hu rehired her trial lawyer to represent her in the appeals case. Her family mailed the Power of Attorney to Wang Jiapei, the judge overseeing the appeals case, after Wang repeatedly denied their requests for a meeting to submit the paperwork in person.
Ms. Hu’s family went to the intermediate court on November 22, after the trial court notified them on the phone that the appeals court issued a ruling.
The intermediate court had kiosks in its lobby for people to search its online database, but Ms. Hu’s loved ones were unable to find any updates concerning her case. Judge Wang happened to pass through the lobby. The family walked up to him and asked him when Ms. Hu’s appeals hearing was scheduled. Wang appeared to be impatient and said, “What hearing are you talking about?” before he quickly walked away.
On November 24, Ms. Hu’s family received the ruling from the appeals court, dated November 14, to uphold her prison sentence. They couldn’t understand why the judge didn’t mention it when they saw him in the court on November 22.
Ms. Hu’s family later found out that the appeals court accepted her case on November 1 and the case was formally closed on November 15.
Related Reports:
57-Year-Old Hebei Woman Gets Second Prison Term for Practicing Falun Gong
Hebei Woman Files Complaint Against Perpetrators While Awaiting Trial for Her Faith in Falun Gong
Hebei Woman Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Her Faith
After Repeated Arrests and Harassment, Hebei Woman Faces Trial for Reading Book of Her Faith
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