(Minghui.org) Four Falun Gong practitioners were sentenced in an illegal trial held in Mei County Court in Guangdong Province on March 29, 2013. Mr. Bu Weiquan was sentenced to five years, Mr. Zeng Hengtao was sentenced to four years, Ms. Huang Yinying and Ms. Yang Lixia were sentenced to two years each.
After the trial, Ms. Huang was taken to Guangdong Women’s Prison (a.k.a. Taihe Prison) located in the Baiyun District in Guangzhou City. Ms. Yang may soon be taken to Guangdong Women’s Prison. Mr. Bu and Mr. Zeng could be taken to Guangdong No. 3 Prison (a.k.a. Meizhou Prison).
Ms. Huang, about 60 years old, used to work for the Meizhou City Huaxi Construction Design Company. She worked very conscientiously at her job and was well respected in the company.
Mr. Bu, 50, is a project manager at the Meizhou Hongyi Construction Company. He and his wife Ms. Yang Lixia have two daughters.
Mr. Zeng, in his late 40s, works for the Nanlong Company in Meizhou.
The four practitioners were arrested on the evening of November 4, 2012, in Xingning City, a county-level city within Meizhou. Mr. Bu's car was confiscated during the arrest. At 8:00 p.m. that evening several groups of police broke into and ransacked the practitioners' homes.
Officials from the Meizhou Procuratorate approved the arrest warrant for the four practitioners on December 8, 2012. They then collaborated with officials from the Meizhou Court and the police, and attempted to organize a trial on the morning of January 29, 2013, to sentence the practitioners.
Ms. Huang's lawyer from Beijing provided a strong “not-guilty” defense, noting that the evidence provided by the prosecution should not be accepted in court. For example, the prosecutor submitted electronic “evidence” from Mr. Bu's computer which had been appraised only by local authorities in Meizhou. By law, such material must be appraised by personnel from the provincial level. As this was not done, this evidence could not be submitted in court. In addition, the photos that were also provided as evidence were not taken at the scene of the actual incident. Instead, they were taken after police had set up a few posters and banners at a location they claimed to be the actual place. Therefore, this also could not be used as evidence in court. The judge and prosecutor offered no response.
Mr. Bu, Mr. Zeng and Ms. Huang all claim their innocence. Ms. Huang told the court that her health had dramatically improved after practicing Falun Gong, and based on this alone, she has the right to tell people about the benefits of the practice.
Ms. Huang’s family and relatives are very worried about her condition. Since her arrest, she has lost consciousness on more than one occasion.
Related articles:
“Four Practitioners from Meizhou City, Guangdong Province Recently Detained” http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2012/12/2/136501.html
“Mei County Court Unjustly Sentences Falun Gong Practitioners to Prison”
http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2013/4/24/139031.html