(Minghui.org) Ms. Liu Xilan, a Falun Gong practitioner from Hefei City, was sentenced to seven years in prison for practicing Falun Gong. Responding to her appeal, the Hefei City Intermediate Court upheld the original sentence.
Ms. Liu's attorney visited her in the detention center on January 10, 2017. Theydecided to appeal her sentence to a higher court.
Attorney Arrested for Defending Practitioners
Ms. Liu was arrested by the Yaohai District Domestic Security Division on May 18, 2014. The Yaohai District Procuratorate returned her case twice to the police for insufficient evidence.
She was charged with “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement.” This is a generic charge used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to persecute practitioners.
The Yaohai District Court tried Ms. Liu on November 26, 2015.
Ms. Wang Yu, Ms. Liu's attorney, was arrested in July for defending Falun Gong practitioners but later released.
Ms. Liu refused to accept the court-appointed attorney, because he had agreed to plead “guilty as charged” on her behalf instead of defending her innocence. She was sentenced to seven years in prison on July 1, 2016.
Ms. Liu appealed to the Hefei City Intermediate Court and was tried again on October 20, 2016. Her attorney pleaded not guilty on her behalf. The intermediate court upheld the original sentence.
Ms. Liu is being held in the Hefei No.1 Detention Center.
