(Minghui.org) After being imprisoned for eight years for exercising his right to practice Falun Gong, Mr. Li Xiaobo was again sentenced to eight years in prison after he was arrested for distributing Falun Gong literature.
Mr. Li Xiaobo was arrested on April 12, 2014, with his son Li Zhe (Paul Li) in Chengdu City. Mr. Paul Li was deported to Canada because he holds Canadian citizenship.
Many police and plainclothes officers were seen patrolling outside of Longquanyi District Court on April 21, 2015, during Mr. Li Xiabo's trial. The court refused to let Philippe Rheault, Consul General of the Canadian consulate in Chongqing, sit in and observe the proceedings, saying that he was "a foreigner."
About 200 local residents were recruited to pack the gallery, attempting to use this case to smear Falun Gong and dissuade villagers from practicing it.
The prosecutor said that 3,000 copies of Falun Gong brochures found in Mr. Li's home were evidence of his guilt, but refused to exhibit them in court.
The judge repeatedly interrupted the defense. Despite insufficient evidence to prove that what Mr. Li had done was illegal, the judge found Mr. Li guilty and handed down the sentence.
