(Minghui.org) Ms. Liu Xiangmei was taken to Tianjin Women's Prison on November 7, 2018 to serve a three-year term for posting information online about Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline under persecution by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Liu was arrested on August 11, 2017 and had her home ransacked and Falun Gong related materials confiscated.
She was taken to Binhai New Area No. 3 Detention Center on August 12 and her arrest was approved by the local procuratorate on September 12, 2017.
After Ms. Liu was indicted, the police and the prosecutor said several times that they would release her if she wrote a statement to admit her guilt. She rejected the request, as she didn't violate any law in practicing and spreading information about Falun Gong. She made it clear that she would never denounce the practice against her conscience.
When her case was forwarded to Dagang Court, presiding judge Ma Jianbin also attempted, unsuccessfully, to lure her into pleading guilty in exchange for her release.
Ma proceeded to hold two hearings of her case on April 11 and June 6, 2018. She was charged with “using a cult to undermine law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime in its attempt to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.
Ms. Liu's lawyers argued that it's her constitutionally protected rights and freedom of belief to practice Falun Gong, and that she didn't cause harm to anyone in the society, let alone obstruct law enforcement. They demanded her acquittal.
Six days after her second hearing, Ma sentenced her to three years in prison on June 12, 2018, with a 3,000-yuan fine. Neither her lawyers nor her family were informed of the sentencing hearing.
Ms. Liu appealed the verdict to Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate Court and requested a re-trial of her case on June 21.
The intermediate court upheld her sentence on October 24 without a hearing. The judge ruled that this was the final decision on her case and prohibited her from appealing to the higher court.
Ms. Liu vowed to continue seeking justice. She is now in preparation to file a motion to reconsider her case.
