(Minghui.org) The persecution of Falun Gong violates existing Chinese laws and the Chinese Constitution, which allows freedom of belief. The illegal sentencing of Falun Gong practitioners for their belief is commonplace in China. Many law enforcement officers knowingly violate the law and will do anything to stop practitioners from exercising their right to appeal.
To prevent Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Wang Jiansheng from appealing his seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence, officials of the Xingwen County Procuratorate lodged a formal protest shortly after his second trial in June 2014, demanding that Mr. Wang be sentenced to from nine to eleven years.
After being detained for more than a year, Mr. Wang was tried for the second time in the Xingwen County Court in Yibin City on June 24, 2014, and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for “utilizing a cult organization to undermine law enforcement.”
After judge Cao read the verdict, Mr. Wang shouted, “I am innocent. I am innocent. This is ridiculous.” When he was escorted out of the courthouse, his family showed their support and expressed their intent to appeal the sentence.
Mr. Wang, in his 60s, is from Xuyong County in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province. He was arrested on July 16, 2013, by more than 15 uniform and plainclothes officers from the Xingwen County 610 Office and the County Domestic Security Division.
They searched his workplace at around 11 p.m. that day and confiscated more than 7,000 yuan and two cell phones. The police demanded that his supervisor name people who often visited him at work.
The same group of police showed up at Mr. Wang's home the very next morning. They broke into and ransacked his home. They confiscated Dafa books, three cell phones, and 12,500 yuan. The police locked the door to his home with a new lock and left the keys at the Residential Community Committee. Although the 12,500 yuan confiscated at his home was eventually returned, the police refused to return the 7,000 yuan confiscated at his work.
Mr. Wang was first tried on April 16, 2014, in the Xingwen County Court. Presiding judge Cao Zhongkang interrupted Mr. Wang when he told how he had benefited from practicing Falun Gong. Despite judge Cao's constant interruptions, the defense attorney delivered convincing arguments countering allegations against his client. He pointed out that Falun Gong is not a cult and demanded that Mr. Wang be acquitted.
Liu Qingwen (刘清文): +86-13990917060 (cell)Lin Xin (林鑫): +86-13700990188 (cell)Liu Hu (刘虎): +86-13795836666 (cell)Hu Yangguo (胡阳国): +86-13890931694 (cell)Zheng Xingyou (郑兴友): +86-13990993199 (cell)Chen Li (陈丽): +86-13096204378 (cell)