(Minghui.org) Seven Falun Gong practitioners including Mr. Ma Zisheng, Mr. Mu Zhitai, Ms. Tang Ming, Ms. Ma Mingli, Mr. Li Shuangxuan, Ms. Ren Biying and Mr. Dai Changquan, all from Mianyang City in Sichuan Province, were illegally sentenced in March 2014 after being detained for one and a half years in a detention center. They were taken to Leshan Prison, without their families' knowledge.
Arrested in July 2012
The seven practitioners were arrested on July 6, 2012, by officers from the Fucheng District Police Department in Mianyang. More than 50 practitioners were arrested that day. Police ransacked their homes and confiscated personal belongings. They extorted a large amount of money from the family members of most practitioners for their release. The seven practitioners mentioned above were not among those released and were held at the Mianyang Detention Center.
When Ms. Tang Ming and her son Mr. Ma Zisheng were arrested, the police planted several Falun Gong books in Mr. Ma’s home to be used against him later. They were also tortured by the police.
The police claim that Ms. Tang Ming and Ms. Ma Mingli are unemployed, but they are both retired.
Police officers Pang Tao and Zhou Ze are known for monitoring practitioners.
First Illegal Trial Convened in March 2013
The first trial of the seven practitioners convened at the Fucheng District Court in Mianyang on March 1, 2013. Two attorneys from Beijing pleaded “not guilty” for their clients and demanded that they release all of the practitioners.
The attorneys informed the court that the practitioners had not violated any existing Chinese law. One of the attorneys said, “There is something called conscience, which supersedes the law. When the two conflict, conscience must win out. Using Article 300 of the Criminal Law to persecute Falun Gong practitioners is unlawful and unjust.”
Illegally Sentenced in November 2013
On November 12, 2013, officials from the Fucheng District Court sentenced Mr. Ma Zisheng to 7 years, Mr. Li Shuangxuan to 5 years, Mr. Mu Zhitai and Ms. Tang Ming to 3 years in prison. Ms. Ma Mingli, Mr. Dai Changquan and Ms. Ren Biying received suspended sentences of 3 years. The practitioners refused to accept the verdict and appealed to the Mianyang Intermediate Court.
Second Trial Convened in January 2014
The second trial was held at Mianyang Intermediate Court on January 23, 2014. Four attorneys from Beijing made a strong “not guilty” defense. The lawyers demanded that the court release the practitioners.
Mr. Li Shuanquan also pleaded “not guilty”, and said: “Falun Gong is a morally upright practice. It has spread to more than 100 countries and is welcomed by every government and people in those countries. I live by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be a good person. I should be released because I'm not guilty of any wrongdoing.”
However, officials from the Mianyang Intermediate Court upheld the original verdict on February 8, 2014, without notifying the lawyers, the practitioners or their families. Court officials waited until February 25 before informing the three practitioners who had received suspended sentences to go and collect their verdicts.
Judge Lied Regarding the Final Verdict
Mr. Li Shuangquan’s wife and son talked to Judge Liu Lei from the Mianyang Intermediate Court on February 26. When Mr. Li asked if the verdict of his father’s case would be decided by the Intermediate Court or by the upper level court, Judge Liu told him that they had already sent the verdict to the superior court of the province for their approval, as this was the procedure for Falun Gong cases. Mr. Li then said, “You may not be able to change anything, but I hope that you, as the judge, can at least rule according to existing Chinese law.”
Mr. Li Shuangquan’s family visited him in the Mianyang Detention Center on March 6. But when they tried to visit him again on March 13, they were told that Mr. Li and the other three practitioners had been transferred somewhere else.
When Mr. Li’s wife and son tried to see Judge Liu again, he was nowhere to be found. So they talked to the assistant judge Zhou Jian. Zhou told Mr. Li’s family that the verdict had already been decided on February 8, which contradicted what Judge Lei had told them on February 26.
Mr. Li’s family members later found out that the four practitioners had been taken to Leshan Prison.
