(Minghui.org) Three Hulin City residents were sentenced to prison for distributing information exposing the Chinese communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Ms. Ma Cuizhi, Ms. Mao Shufen, and Ms. Ma Guizhen were arrested on February 22, 2017 by Yang Xinchao, deputy chief of the Yingchun Forest Bureau Police Station. Yang and his officers proceeded to ransack the three Falun Gong practitioners' homes.
The confiscated items from Ms. Mao's home included a laptop, desktop computer, a printer, a CD burner, two cell phones, an MP5 player, a radio, an MP3 player, 48 Falun Gong books, and a portrait of the founder of Falun Gong.
The confiscated items from Ms. Ma Guizhen's home included 48 Falun Gong books, a desktop computer, a printer, and a cell phone. Ms. Ma Cuizhi had 48 Falun Gong books confiscated from her home.
The three women have since remained at the Jiamusi Women's Detention Center.
Three judges from the Yingchun District Court and three prosecutors from the Yingchun District Procuratorate held a hearing for the women at Heli Forest Bureau on November 10, 2017. Only one family member of each defendant was allowed to attend the trial. Ms. Ma Guizhen hired a lawyer to defend her constitutional right to freedom of belief. The other two practitioners didn't have legal representation.
The three practitioners' families were notified on April 24, 2018 that they have been convicted, with Ms. Mao given 4 years, Ms. Ma Guizhen 3.5 years, and Ms. Ma Cuizhi 3 years.
The families asked for a copy of the verdict but were told that there was none to give to them.
