(Minghui.org) A married couple in Cang County, Hebei Province were sentenced to prison for their faith in Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Zhang Zhenwei and Ms. Pang Huixia were arrested on January 15 and February 22, 2019, respectively. The Cang County Procuratorate soon approved their arrests and moved their cases to Yunhe District Procuratorate.
Mr. Zhang was released on bail on April 17. Ms. Pang remained detained at Cangzhou City Detention Center.
When Ms. Pang’s lawyer visited her at the detention center on April 28, he noted that her hands were cuffed behind her back, with one arm twisted behind her back to meet another arm pulled over her shoulder. She told the lawyer that she held a hunger strike to protest the persecution and was tortured and force-fed.
The Yunhe District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Pang and her husband and moved their cases to the Yunhe District Court on October 21, 2019.
The couple appeared in court on December 27 and their lawyer entered a not guilty plea for them. The more than 1,000 copies of The Ultimate Goal Of Communism, a book shedding light on the origin and nature of communism, confiscated from their home, were included as prosecution evidence against them.
The judge sentenced Ms. Pang to seven years in prison with a 20,000 yuan fine on February 11, 2020. Mr. Zhang was given one year with a probation of two years, as well as 5,000 yuan fine. Both of them have filed an appeal with Cangzhou City Intermediate Court.
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