(Minghui.org) The Mudanjiang City Intermediate Court in Heilongjiang Province heard four Falun Gong practitioners’ appeal cases on May 19-20, 2026, and has yet to issue a ruling.
The four practitioners, all residents of Dongning City (which is under the administration of Mudanjiang), were arrested on July 18, 2025, and convicted on February 4, 2026. Ms. Su Hong was sentenced to nine years and fined 5,000 yuan. Mr. Shen Jinxiang, 66, and Ms. Jia Yanfeng, each received five years and a 2,000-yuan fine. Mr. Yang Kui was given four and a half years with a 2,000-yuan fine. See the related reports for details of the practitioners’ arrests, trial, and sentencing.
Mr. Yang’s son, Mr. Yang Zhiming; Ms. Jia’s daughter, Ms. Yang Nanxi; and Mr. Shen’s daughter, Ms. Shen Lin, represented their parents in the appeal case as non-lawyer defenders. The families also jointly hired five lawyers, including Mr. Chen Zhiyong, Mr. Dong Qianyong, Mr. Li Xiongbing, Mr. Liu Hao, and Ms. Wang Yu.
Ms. Wang was not allowed to defend the practitioners because her law license had previously been revoked for representing other Falun Gong practitioners. Since she was not a family member of any of the defendants, the intermediate court said she was barred from being involved in the case. By law, anyone can serve as a non-lawyer defender.
Prosecutors Xie Wenxue and Li Chao were present at the appeals hearing. Judges Zhao Hengdong, Sun Yuanyuan, and Zhang Zhennan did not interrupt the defendants and their lawyers when they were making statements, but denied their requests for the prosecutors to present in court all physical evidence used against them. The reason given was that “there were too many pieces to be transported to the courthouse.”
The appeal judges did not indicate when they’d issue a ruling. The practitioners are likely still being held at local detention centers.
Related Reports:
Dongning City, Heilongjiang Province: Four Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced to 4.5 to 9 Years
Dongning City, Heilongjiang Province: Four Residents Tried for Practicing Falun Gong
Several Teachers Persecuted in Dongning County, Heilongjiang Province
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