(Minghui.org) A Xiangtan City, Hunan Province resident was sentenced to 1.5 years for urging a student to quit the Chinese Communist Party’s youth organizations.
Ms. Guo Mingqing, 56, was arrested outside the local middle school on June 12, 2019 for talking to a student about her faith in Falun Gong and urging him to sever ties with the CCP. The student’s father struck her and reported her to the police.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the since 1999.
Ms. Guo made two appearances at Yuetang District Court, first on September 19 and then on October 31, 2019. Her two lawyers entered a not guilty plea for her. They argued that no law criminalizes Falun Gong in China and that it’s their client’s freedom of belief and expression to practice Falun Gong and talk to people about it.
The presiding judge, Peng Quyan, claimed that the prosecution evidence included a video clip taken by the school’s surveillance camera. Mr. Guo's lawyers challenged Peng to play the video so everyone could see that their client broke no law by talking to a student about Falun Gong. Peng refused to present the video evidence in court.
Ms. Guo’s mother, in her 80s, was the only family member allowed to attend the second hearing. No family member was allowed to attend her first hearing.
Peng announced the verdict against Ms. Guo in December 2019. She has appealed to Xiangtan City Intermediate Court.
It was reported that Ms. Guo’s prison sentence was determined by Xiangtan City Political and Legal Affairs Committee, an extrajudicial agency tasked to persecute Falun Gong and given power to control police and judicial systems.
Hunan Woman Faces Prison for Urging Student to Quit the Communist Party's Youth Organizations