(Minghui.org) Fourteen Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province residents were sentenced to prison by the Xihu District Court in late 2019 for upholding their faith in Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress the practice in July 1999, a large number of practitioners have been detained, imprisoned, and tortured. Because of the information blockade in China, it is very difficult to get complete information about arrests and subsequent sentencing, and not all information can be received in a timely manner.
The prison sentences of the 14 practitioners recently sentenced are as follows:
Chen Wen: 9.5 yearsChen Yulian: 8 yearsKuang Zhihua: 7.5 years and 20,000 yuan fineZheng Yinxiu: 7 years and 10,000 yuan fineTeng Chahua: 7.5 yearsCao Genxiu: 7 yearsGao Yinfeng: 5 yearsYan Jinhua: 5 yearsLiu Yongying: 4 yearsLiu Taoying: 2.5 yearsXia Mingjin: 2 yearsWen Yan: 1 year and 8 monthsHu Huomei: 1.5 yearsHu Mitao: prison term under investigation
Arrests
Two Arrested on September 13, 2017; Both Sentenced
Ms. Kuang Zhihua and Ms. Zheng Yixiu, both retired teachers, were arrested on September 13, 2017. They appeared in the Xihu District Court on May 6, 2019, and were sentenced about two months later. Ms. Huang was given 7.5 years and fined 20,000 yuan; Ms. Zheng received 7 years and a fine of 10,000 yuan.
Three Arrested on April 3, 2018; All Sentenced
Ms. Liu Yongying, 56, is a teacher at the Jiangxi Civil Affairs School. After she began to practice Falun Gong in October 1996, her health improved significantly and her family life also improved greatly.
Seven officers from the Qingshanhu Police Department arrested Ms. Liu from her home at midnight on April 3, 2018. They confiscated many of her personal belongings including a computer, a printer, and a DVD burner. She was sent to the Nanchang First Detention Center and an arrest warrant was issued on May 10, 2018.
Two other local practitioners, Ms. Wen Yan and Ms. Xia Mingjin, were arrested the same night while putting up banners bearing messages about Falun Gong. They were sent to the same detention center.
All three practitioners were sentenced to prison on December 8, 2019, with Ms. Liu given 4 years, Ms. Xia 2 years, and Ms. Wen 1 year and 8 months.
Five Arrested on April 10, 2018; 1 Sentenced
When officers from the Qingshanhu Police Department arrested Ms. Li Fenyu at home on April 10, 2018, they also detained her four guests, who were reading Falun Gong books at her home with her.
The guests were Ms. Liu Haizhen, Ms. Chen Dongmei, Ms. Hu Huomei, and Ms. Xu Jianfei.
All five Falun Gong practitioners were held at the Qingshanhu Police Department. Two days later, Ms. Hu was sent to the Nanchang First Detention Center, while the other four practitioners were released.
Ms. Hu was sentenced to one and a half years in 2019.
Seven Arrested on Mid-April 2018; 6 Sentenced
Six practitioners from Liantang Town were arrested by Nanchang police as they read Falun Gong books together on April 16, 2018. They included Ms. Gao Yinhua, Ms. Chen Wen, Ms. Hu Mitao, Ms. Chen Yulian, Mr. Guo Cheng, and Ms. Cao Genxiu. The police also ransacked their homes. Five practitioners were sentenced to prison in late October 2019, with Ms. Chen Wen given 9.5 years, Ms. Chen Yulian 8 years, Ms. Gao 5 years, Ms. Cao 7 years. Ms. Hu's term is unclear.
Ms. Yan Jinhua was also arrested by Qingshanhu police in mid-April 2019 and sent to the Nanchang First Detention Center. She was sentenced to 5 years on December 8, 2019.
One Arrested on July 27, 2018 and Later Sentenced
Ms. Liu Taoying was arrested at home on July 27, 2018. The police confiscated her Falun Gong books and materials, cell phone, computer, printer and other personal belongings. She was released on bail on August 15, only to be taken back into custody five days later. She was sentenced to 2.5 years in 2019.
One More Sentenced – Arrest Date Unknown
Among the practitioners sentenced is Ms. Teng Chahua, who was given seven and a half years in late October 2019. The date of her arrest remains to be investigated.
Details of the Trials
The above practitioners were tried in six groups, with their hearings all taking place in the Xihua District Court.
First Group: Five Practitioners
Ms. Chen Wen, Ms. Chen Yulian, Ms. Cao Genxiu, Ms. Gao Yinfeng, and Ms. Hu Mitao first appeared in court together on May 10, 2019.
During their second hearing on September 16, 2019, Ms. Chen Wen emphasized that she had broken no law by upholding her belief in Falun Gong. The presiding judge kept interrupting her and made it difficult for Ms. Chen to present her case.
All five practitioners were sentenced in late October.
Second Group: Four Practitioners
Four practitioners had a joint hearing at the Xihu Court on July 23, 2019. They were Ms. Liu Yongying, Ms. Wen Yan, Ms. Xia Mingjin, and Ms. Yan Jinhua. Although scheduled for 10 a.m., the hearing did not start until after 11 a.m. because the prosecutor was late. The courtroom was very small—only 7 seats for spectators. With four practitioners on trial, only one family member was allowed for each practitioner.
After the prosecutor brought up the charges, all four practitioners defended their innocence. Ms. Liu talked about the torture she suffered during interrogation. Since new evidence needed to be collected, the hearing adjourned after about an hour.
During a subsequent hearing on August 16, 2019, a total of 8 family members were allowed in the courtroom for these four practitioners. Ms. Liu described how Falun Gong improved her health and character, and helped save her nearly broken family. Her lawyer also refuted the charges against her.
On December 8, 2019, the four practitioners received the following prison terms: 5 years for Ms. Yan, 4 years for Ms. Liu, 2 years for Ms. Xia, and 20 months for Ms. Wen. Ms. Wen has already finished serving her term at the time of writing.
Four More Groups: Five Practitioners in Total
Ms. Kuang Zhihua and Ms. Zheng Yinxiu were tried together and sentenced to prison around July 2019.
Ms. Hu Huomei was tried in a secret trial at the Xihu Court. Her family members were not notified. After her 18-month term expired in October 2019, she was released and returned home.
Ms. Liu Taoying is a practitioner from the Hi-Tech Zone of Nanchang City. Her case was handled separately from other practitioners and details of her hearing remain unknown.
Similarly, Ms. Teng Chahua was also tried alone, and information about her court hearings are as yet unclear.
Key Responsible Personnel:
Zhao Chujin, manager of the Qingshanhu Domestic Security Bureau: +86-791-8225128, +86-791-8866042, +86-15979103838Xihu Procuratorate: +86-791-87234750Liu Jie, prosecutor: +86-791-86273009He Huaxin, director of the Qingshanhu Police Department: +86-791-88866001, +86-13907915520Chen Wenge, manager of the Nanchang Domestic Security Bureau: +86-13907050073
Related Report:
Five Jiangxi Province Residents Detained Beyond Legally-Permissible Term for Their Faith
