(Minghui.org) Mr. Cao Shengxiang, 58, was arrested and unlawfully sentenced to prison for his belief in Falun Gong. He was not allowed to have a lawyer defend him, and his family was not notified of his trial.
Sentenced without a Defense Attorney
After having been detained for 20 months, Mr. Cao Shengxiang, chief of the Logistics Department at the Qinghai Traffic Hospital in Xining, Qinghai Province, was sentenced to five years in prison in late 2013. He was taken to Manyuan Prison in Haibei County on February 24, 2014.
When his family later asked officials at the procuratorate why they had not been told about the trial, the officials said that, because Mr. Cao is an adult, his family did not need to be informed.
Ershilipu Detention Center officials informed his family in January 2014 that he had been sentenced. When the family asked for a copy of the verdict, the court again claimed that because Mr. Cao was an adult, they did not have to notify his family of the verdict.
His family went to Manyuan Prison in Haibei County to see Mr. Cao on March 24, 2014. They were not allowed to talk about conditions inside the prison and their visit was limited to a few minutes. Their conversation was recorded, and the phone was immediately cut off when the family asked Mr. Cao about his trial.
Family Lied to by Responsible Agencies
Mr. Cao was arrested by officers from the Xining City Domestic Security Division on the morning of June 23, 2012, and taken to Ershilipu Detention Center. The police ransacked his home that afternoon and confiscated a computer, a printer, an MP3 player, DVDs, and other personal belongings.
Mr. Cao's family has tried to see him in the detention center several times but without success. They also have asked people at the Xining Domestic Security Division and Police Department about him, but neither agency will accept responsibility.
Parties Involved in Persecuting Mr. Cao:
Chen Xiaolong (陳小龍): officer from Xining City Domestic Security Team: +86-13389710066 Zhan Xiaolin (詹小林), presiding judge of the Xining City Court
