(Minghui.org) Three residents of Longkou City, Shandong Province, were sentenced to prison on December 14, 2023 for their shared faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999. The same Longkou City Court also heard the cases against two other local Falun Gong practitioners, and has still yet to issue a ruling.
Ms. Ge Lijuan was sentenced to a 4.5-year prison term and admitted to the Shandong Province Second Prison (also known as the Shandong Province Women’s Prison). Mr. Wang Zhoulin was given four years and admitted to the Shandong Province First Prison (also known as the Shandong Province Men’s Prison). Both prisons are located in the capital city of Jinan. Ms. Wu Jingkun was given two years with three years probation and a 6,000-yuan fine.
Ms. Chen Guifang and Ms. Jiao Linhui are currently awaiting verdicts at the Yantai City Detention Center.
Part of Group Arrest and Prosecuted in Two Separate Trials
The five practitioners were among the 23 Longkou residents (21 Falun Gong practitioners and two of their family members) arrested around 5 a.m. on May 9, 2023. Ms. Chen, Ms. Ge, Ms. Jiao, and Mr. Wang had their arrests formally approved in June 2023 and their cases were submitted to the Longkou City Procuratorate on July 26. They were indicted weeks later, and their cases were forwarded to the Longkou City Court on August 21, 2023. Ms. Wu’s case was submitted to the procuratorate in September 2023 and she was soon indicted.
Ms. Wu, Ms. Ge, and Mr. Wang were tried together on October 26, 2023. The trial was delayed for 30 minutes because Ms. Wu had a medical episode involving her body twitching. Prosecutor Liu Lan (+86-535-3012807) of the Longkou City Procuratorate attended the trial. The practitioners were convicted on December 14, 2023.
Ms. Chen and Ms. Jiao’s cases were grouped in another trial. Their first hearing on November 1, 2023 was a strange hybrid court hearing, with the judges and spectators in one courtroom and the two women appearing virtually in the room next door. They questioned judge Chi on why she put them in a different room than everyone else, when they had already been brought to the courthouse and they were not suffering from any contagious diseases. Chi did not address the concern and ended the session in half an hour.
During the two practitioners’ second hearing on December 26, 2023, prosecutor Wang played a video showing a woman wearing a yellow helmet riding an electric bicycle with another person on the back seat. Wang accused Ms. Chen of being the helmet-wearing woman and taking Ms. Jiao to distribute Falun Gong informational materials.
Ms. Chen pointed out that she never had a yellow helmet to begin with. Her lawyer demanded to know where the video was taken and how Wang drew the conclusion that Ms. Chen was in the video. Wang did not answer the questions.
Prosecutor Wang Fei (+86-15908918186, +86-13697849573) was present at both hearings. The two practitioners are still awaiting a verdict at the time of this writing.
Judge Chi Ya’nan (+86-185-6227-2996) presided over all the practitioner trials, with judges Zhao Yu (+86-18561066566, +86-13156934533, +86-535-8778316), Diao Lina, and Sun Yuedi, as well as clerk Wang Chen, assisting her.
More About Ms. Wu’s Prosecution
Ms. Wu developed severe symptoms shortly after her arrest and was released on bail on May 23, 2023. She was later diagnosed with severe heart disease. On September 1, 2023, her family submitted her medical records to the Longkou City Procuratorate and urged them to drop her case. They were told to wait for a response the following Monday (September 4).
The procuratorate called as promised and summoned Ms. Wu to process some paperwork. Her family said her systolic blood pressure was 210 mmHg at the time and could not go. Guo Furui, an officer from the Longkou City Domestic Security Office, soon called and threatened to take Ms. Wu to the procuratorate in an ambulance. Her husband was later summoned to the Longkou City Court to verify his ID as he was the guarantor of his wife’s bail release.
The court summoned Ms. Wu on September 11, 2023 and ordered her to write statements renouncing Falun Gong. She said she did not know how to write. A court worker found a template and forced her to copy it and sign her name.
Ms. Wu was indicted shortly afterwards and was given a court date of October 17, 2023. The court initially allowed her husband to appear in court on her behalf due to her health condition, but judge Chi later reversed the decision and insisted that Ms. Wu appear in court herself. Ms. Wu said her health did not allow that, and Chi threatened to hold the hearing at her home. Police officer Guo also threatened to give her a heavier sentence if she dared to hire a lawyer.
The court later cancelled the October 17 hearing and instead tried Ms. Wu with Mr. Wang and Ms. Ge together on October 26, 2023.
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