A 73-Year-Old Practitioner Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

 (Minghui.org) Four senior Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Weinan City, Shaanxi Province. They are: Mr. Wang Jinca, 78; Ms. Yang Lianying 73; Ms. Zheng Min, 69; and Ms. Wang Fengqin, 62.

Ms. Yang was sentenced to five years in prison by Pucheng County Court. Mr. Wang, Ms. Zheng, and Ms. Wang had to leave their hometown and are now listed on the Internet as wanted by the police.

All Four Reported and Arrested

The practitioners went to nearby villages to distribute informational materials about the persecution of Falun Dafa on October 19, 2012. They were reported to police by a female bus ticket collector, Li Ting.

Su Bin and other officers from Dangmu Police Station in Pucheng County took them into custody. They took their personal belongings such as Dafa materials, keys, cellphones, MP3 players, as well as 300 yuan in cash.

Two Detained

The police took the four practitioners to the Pucheng County Hospital for physicals the next morning and then to the Weinan Detention Center. Ms. Yang and Ms. Wang were admitted to the detention center.

At the time, Mr. Wang and Ms. Zheng had high blood pressure, as high as 200mmHg, so the detention center would not accept them. They were taken to the Dangmu Police Station and forced to take pills to lower their blood pressure. They refused, but the police secretly put the pills into their food and water. However, two days later, the practitioners' blood pressure increased. After another two days, the police notified their relatives to sign documents that they were responsible for keeping the practitioners from practicing at home.

One Paroled

After Ms. Wang was held in the detention center for 40 days, she was paroled and returned home on December 10, 2012.

Ms. Yang was kept in the detention center for several months. During that time, she fell and hurt herself. She could not take care of herself and was transferred to Pucheng Police Station.

Homes Ransacked

Officers from Dangmu Police Station and the Domestic Security Team in Weinan City broke into the four practitioners' homes using the keys they had confiscated on December 20, 2012.

They took more private property, such as three computers, four printers, DVDs, books, MP3 players, ebook readers, watches, shopping cards and other articles for daily use. They did not document a list of confiscated property.

Trumped-up Evidence Presented at Their Trial

The Pucheng County Court tried the practitioners on April 17, 2013. Their families hired a lawyer to defend them.

The practitioners told the court how great Falun Dafa was and how they benefited from it. Chang Shipin, the public procurator, charged them using the 300^th clause in criminal law. However, the evidence against them was too insignificant to justify prison terms, so Chang Shiping presented further "evidence" to have them convicted. This included the confiscated Dafa books, amulets, an ebook-reader, MP3 players and even the notes the grandchildren used to practice their calligaphy, such as “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”

The lawyer from Beijing immediately hit back, “This is very unfair to my clients.” When the lawyer pointed out that there was no law in China defining Falun Gong as a cult, the judges began to openly discuss this matter. However, Chang Shiping insisted on using the 300^th clause to sentence them to 3 to 5 years in prison.

The lawyer said the evidence was insufficient and the accusation was not valid. Chang Shiping was startled and the chief judge said, “It looks like the case is out of our jurisdiction. Let's deal with it after further discussion.” The trial was adjourned.

"They Want to Make Your Case Political"

Zhang Hanlun and another female judge went to the home of Ms. Wang Fengqin on July 2, 2013. They told her the police department was not responsible for the case anymore and that the previous bail document should be signed in court.

Ms. Wang told Zhang Hanlu the facts about Dafa. Zhang Hanlu replied, “I know you are good people. However, the higher-ranking officers want to make your case political.”

Ms. Wang Escapes

Liu Peng, Wang Jinchen, and Jiang Bo from Dangmu Police Station went to Ms. Wang's home to arrest her on August 6, 2013. Her husband said, “My fractured lumbar vertebrae has not been healed yet. Even if you insist on arresting her, please wait till I get better.”

The police said they were carrying orders from their superiors and could not report back to their leader without arresting her. When the family and the police were in a stalemate, Ms. Wang took the chance to leave home and now lives away her hometown.

Ms. Yang Sentenced

While Ms. Yang was being illegally sentenced to five years in prison by the Pucheng County Court, the three others left their hometown and are wanted by the police.

All four practitioners are over 60. Before practicing Dafa, they had kinds of ailments. After practicing Dafa, they became healthy and had harmony at home. They just wanted to tell more people about the benefits of practicing it and their experience of being persecuted. In response, they were persecuted. The persecution also placed intense pressure on their families. We hope people pay attention to their plight and offer help.

Departments and Individuals Involved:

Xiang Jiuliang (向九亮), police officer, Domestic Security Team at Weinan District, Weinan City, [phone] (Cell)
Lei Jianli (雷建利), director of Dangmu Police Station, Pucheng County, [phone] (Cell)
Chang Shiping (常世平), procuratorate of Pucheng County, [phone] (Cell), [phone] (Office)
Zhang Hanlun (张晗露), Pucheng County Court, 86-15991495688 (Cell), [phone] (Office)
Li Ting (李婷), informer, ticket seller for Weinan-Honglin bus service, living in Beiguo Village, Guandi Town, Linwei District