(Minghui.org) The presiding judge in the trial of a Falun Gong practitioner sentenced her to 7 years in prison, two months after having promised to give her a lighter sentence.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body practice being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. Ms. Chen Haixia's family suspects that the judge's sudden change of mind was a result of pressure from the local political and legal affairs committees (PLAC), extra-judicial agencies tasked with carrying out the persecution policy and given power to override the judicial system.
Ms. Chen was arrested in September 2017 while talking to people about Falun Gong in Leizhou City. She was released days later after developing high blood pressure and requiring emergency resuscitation. The police, though, took her back into custody not long afterwards.
Ms. Chen's health never improved, but she was denied medical parole and ordered to stand trial on April 16, 2018. Her family requested her medical parole again after the court hearing, and judge Huang Qin of Chikan District Court agreed to grant her parole upon receipt of required documents.
Ms. Chen's family was busy gathering necessary paperwork when they were informed in late June that she had been sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Her loved ones rushed to the court, but judge Huang refused to explain why she suddenly changed her mind.
Ms. Chen's family believes that the local PLACs in Chikan District and Zhanjiang City had a role in her sentence.
Ms. Chen's new lawyer met with her at Leizhou Drug Rehabilitation Center and learned that she has been on a hunger strike for ten days in protest of her prison sentence. She was force fed and given an IV drip. Her blood pressure remains high, and her family is extremely worried about her.
Zhanjiang City Political and Legal Affairs CommitteeSecretary Lin Xiwen: +86-18820662933
Chikan District Political and Legal Affairs CommitteeSecretary Wu Yangxuan: +86-13828267118
Judge Huang Qin: +86-13590068102
Related Report:Woman in Declining Health Denied Medical Parole and Ordered to Stand Trial
