(Minghui.org) Two women in Daqing City were each given five years in prison at their sentencing hearing on December 1, 2017.
Ms. Shao Ying and Ms. Shi Jing were arrested on April 2, 2017 for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. Only one relative from their respective families was allowed to attend their first court hearing on September 8.
The same “rule” applied at the sentencing hearing again. Only a total of two family members were allowed inside the gallery, where all of the seats but two were occupied by people with no ties to the families.
As the two relatives walked to the two empty seats in the last row, a court bailiff suddenly shouted, “Let’s empty a few more seats for more family members to come in!” Several people in the front row stood up and left. The two relatives wanted to take those front-row seats, but were ordered to sit in the last row.
The two relatives then saw some other people come in and sit down in the front row. They, however, didn’t recognize any of the newcomers.
Ms. Shi and Ms. Shao were brought into the courtroom. Ms. Shao had her hands over her stomach and hunched her back. A bailiff held her arm to keep her steady. She looked extremely uncomfortable.
The two relatives saw someone videotaping everything. Very quickly they heard the judge announce that both Ms. Shi and Ms. Shao were given five-year sentences.
The two practitioners immediately said they’d appeal the guilty verdicts.
According to some local Falun Gong practitioners, this sentencing hearing could well be the first of its kind in Daqing City. In the past, there was no sentencing hearing in the trial of Falun Gong practitioners, and the verdicts would simply be delivered to defendants and their lawyers.
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