(Minghui.org) Twelve residents in the Dongzhou District of Fushun City were arrested in one day more than two years ago, for their faith in Falun Gong. Eleven of them were sentenced to prison in December 2018; the remaining practitioner is awaiting a verdict following a hearing.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
The twelve practitioners were arrested on July 22, 2016 during a month-long police sweep of local Falun Gong practitioners. The Dongzhou District Procuratorate submitted its case to the Dongzhou District Court on March 13, 2017, after returning it twice to the police for more evidence.
Judge Tian Hao from the Dongzhou District Court held two pretrial meetings with the practitioners’ lawyers on April 25 and June 8, 2017. Instead of proceeding with the joint trial, he split the case into individual cases and assigned them to nearby courts, including Wanghua District Court, Qingyuan County Court, and Fushun County Court.
The 12 practitioners appeared in court between September and November 2018. Eleven of them were sentenced to prison in early December, and Ms. Xu Guirong is still awaiting a verdict after a hearing on September 10, 2018, in the Wanghua District Court.
Dong Weirong and Jiang Shun'ai have been released after serving their time, while the other ten remain in Nangou Detention Center.
Below are details of their cases:
Download list of affected practitioners
Related reports:
Twelve Falun Gong Practitioners Held in Custody for More Than Two Years Without Trial
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Belated News: Defense Lawyers Request That the Judge Follow the Law in Pretrial Hearings
Fushun Police Bring Charges Against 12 Practitioners for the Third Time
Thirty Falun Gong Practitioners Still Held in Fushun Detention Center
Fushun, Liaoning Province: 29 Arrested for Their Faith in One Month, 22 Still in Detention
