(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhang Xiaobo and Ms. Zhang Yuling from Puyang City were respectively sentenced to four and three years in prison by Hualong District Court on December 19, 2014 following their arrest on July 5. Their homes were ransacked by police when no one was around, and various personal belongings were taken away, including cash.
Both practitioners are currently incarcerated in Xinxiang Women’s Prison in Henan Province.
610 Office Manipulates Court Proceedings
The trial of the two practitioners was scheduled at 10:00 am on November 20, 2014. The gallery in the courtroom was filled with bystanders.
Nothing happened until almost lunch time, when people heard that the trial had been postponed to 3:00 pm, when people from the 610 Office would arrive.
When the trial began, only the two practitioners’ family members and their defense lawyers were allowed in the courtroom.
Family Members Suspect Abuse, as Both Women Looked Gaunt
Ms. Zhang Xiaobo was escorted into the courtroom by police. She walked slowly, wearing heavy chains and shackles. Her family members could hardly recognize her. Her usual healthy complexion had turned dark and dull, and she was all bones.
Ms. Zhang Yuling also looked gaunt as she walked into the courtroom in heavy shackles.
Deceived and Coerced by the 610 Office
Zhang Zhonghua from the local 610 Office deceived Ms. Zhang Yuling by telling her that she would be given probation if she wrote a statement to stop practicing Falun Gong.
In order to check if Ms. Zhang had indeed meant what was written in the statement, Zhang Zhonghua manipulated court proceedings and instructed the Hualong District Court to hold a second trial against her.
Only the judge, two defense lawyers, Zhang Zhonghua and others from the 610 Office were present in court.
Zhang Zhonghua asked Ms. Zhang to verbally abuse the founder of Falun Gong in front of everyone in court. Ms. Zhang refused to do so. Consequently, she was sentenced to three years in prison.
Ms. Zhang Yuling’s Family under Tremendous Pressure
Ms. Zhang’s husband works at Zhongyuan Oilfield. While Ms. Zhang was in prison, the CCP secretary of the oilfield threatened to fire her husband and asked him to force her to write a guarantee statement to give up Falun Gong. They also used threats to force her son to return to the family home.
Both women are being subjected to coercive brainwashing and forced labor in prison for refusing to denounce Falun Gong.
Ms. Zhang Xiaobo is also denied family visits.
Her mother has filed a criminal complaint with the People’s Supreme Procuratorate and the People’s Supreme Court on August 18, 2015 against former dictator Jiang Zemin for launching the brutal persecution of Falun Gong.
Related Reports:
Talking about Falun Gong Still Dangerous: Two More Practitioners Illegally Detained
Additional Persecution News from China – February 15, 2015 (11 Reports)
